Last week, students at Blake had yet another opportunity to make a difference in the community. On Friday, April 20, Memorial Blood Center conducted a blood drive at Blake, collecting from students, teachers, and parents who wished to donate. As Ninth Grade Dean Ben Temple noted, “It is a very simple thing that most of us can do that has an enormous impact on the lives of other people in the community and all around the country.”
For students who have trouble finding ways to make a difference, giving blood is relatively simple (participants must be at least 16 years of age). Ten minutes is all it takes to save a life, or perhaps three, according to the Memorial Blood Center website. Science teacher Jim Arnold is more explicit: “Give blood. You might need some someday.” Arnold’s words couldn’t be more accurate. About 1 in 3 people will need blood in their lifetime, and Memorial Blood Centers require more than 2,000 donations per week to meet the needs of the hospitals they serve. Aditi Gupta, ’13 explains, “It’s a really important thing to do because it can save so many lives and you don’t necessarily need all of the blood that’s flowing through your system right now because your body can make more.”
This year, Forum set a goal of 30-35 donors in order to improve upon past years’ participation of approximately 20. In order to meet this goal, Forum took a different approach. As Margaret Graham ‘14, chief organizer of the drive explained, “When we found out that Breck was also having a blood drive we contacted them to see if they wanted to do a competition. They seemed very excited about it.” In addition to the competition, Graham identified another reason to give. “It’s such a good feeling to help!”