By Allison Mogg
Blood has always been a necessity, but there has also been a very large shortage of blood, so the Heritage High School Key Club is doing its part in helping out the community with its yearly blood drive in the health room on Thursday, Sept. 30.
“There has been a massive shortage of blood recently, especially due to Covid. It’s something where we have an opportunity to provide 30 to 40 donations of blood. We’ll probably try to do it a second time this year, but we are really excited for the first one, especially because we weren’t able to do it last year due to Covid,” says Brittany Markus, sponsor of Key Club.
The blood drive draws students in to be a part of key club because of the work that the club does on it and the impact that the drive makes.
“Being part of Key Club, the blood drive is so important because of the impact that our work has on the community,” says senior Emma Nathan.
The club is encouraging anyone who can donate blood, to come in and help give back to the community. However, there are regulations for who can donate blood such as, participants needing to be 18 to donate on their own, but those who are 16 or 17 can still donate with a parental consent form. Participants also must be at least 110 pounds. The drive is open to anyone and is not limited to HHS students. For anyone who is not eligible to donate, there are other ways to help.
“If students can’t donate, they should join Key Club! They can help set up and put on the blood drive. Another helpful thing that they can do is convince others to donate,” Markus encourages.
Students who can’t come to this blood drive but want to donate at a different time should visit the Vitalant website, vitalant.org, to find out more information on how they can donate.
Senior Bridget Monroe describes the ways that the Key Club plays a part in the drive.
“We set it up. So, we will be in front of the main entrance having people sign up and giving them all the information they need. We will set up the health room and prepare for the drive. We obviously don’t actually draw the blood but we basically organize it,” states Monroe.
The blood drive is an important event and it is a great way to give back. Students who want to know more about Key Club or the drive should contact Mrs. Markus or Miss Bianchi. Students and staff can sign up for spots in front of the main office from Monday, Sept. 27, through Wednesday, Sept. 29.