RBHS student Council (StuCo) hosted their annual blood drive with the Red Cross on Sept. 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the auxiliary gym.

Students over 18 were eligible to donate, and those between 16 and 18 were able as well with parental consent and ID verification. Sophomore Millie Sexten is one of many students who volunteered to monitor the blood drive.

“I thought it was really cool because I feel like we didn’t think there was gonna be a ton of people, but a lot of people came in,” Sexten said. “Lots of students came in, and they were just like, ‘Yeah, I’m here to give blood,’ and they did it before school. So it wasn’t even like ‘I’m getting out of class to do this,’ they chose to do it.”

Recognizing the importance of a welcoming atmosphere, Sexten emphasized the role of volunteers in easing potential donors’ apprehensions. She donated blood earlier in the day and hopes it gave other students an incentive to donate as well.

“I think part of volunteering is just being welcoming and being someone they know, because I think it can be really scary to give blood,” Sexten said. “So just being a friendly face and inviting people to come and give blood is really great.”

Junior Adler Sicht was one the students who donated blood during first block, and he described the process he went through. Students show up and fill out registration forms and are given reading material on the process of blood donation. A nurse then escorts students to get their heart rate, blood pressure and fingerprint. Once completed, students sit on a bed and get their blood taken, occasionally squeezing a rubber ball to make sure blood keeps pumping through their veins.

“[The nurse said] you end up losing at least 7% of your blood, and it’s pretty physically demanding, and I actually felt really nauseous after,” Sicht said. “I was nervous about it, but I just knew it was the right thing to do.”

RBHS Activity Secretary Amanda Perkins explained the significance of the blood drive. StuCo mainly runs it in partnership with the Red Cross, which offers scholarship money to at least one senior involved in the event based on the amount of donations received. While the scholarship is a benefit from the blood drive, the main goal is to combat the current national blood shortage.

“It’s a great way to serve the community at large by doing a simple task,” Perkins said. “And [it] ultimately helps fight an important issue.”

Approximately 40 students showed up to donate. The blood drive was a success, with the Red Cross reaching their donation goal of 35 people, and StuCo hopes that students come back for the next one.

“People are obviously physically impacted when they’re donating blood,” Sexten said. “But I think that kind of helps people see what those who need the blood are going through, and it’s so much harder, and hopefully they’ll be more likely to donate in the future.”

Did you donate blood? Let us know in the comments below.