For many students, club involvement is an important part of high school due to the benefits of feeling involved on campus and exploring one’s interests, but others recognize the opportunities that clubs provide for community service. One of the most active and driven clubs at West is Girl’s Service Club who strives to make a difference within their school and local communities. With help from over 80 student members, Girl’s Service Club (GSC) hosted their annual blood drive last week, aiming to gain enough donations to save over 100 lives.
The blood drive has been an event for as long as students and advisors can remember, and has continued throughout the years due to the attention it receives as well as its significant turnout. Members and donors alike recognize the importance of donating blood and why hosting the blood drive is so beneficial.
“Girls Service Club is a service organization, and every year we host the blood drive to emphasize how important the need for blood is. There is a blood shortage, and each pint has the potential to save three lives,” GSC advisor Kareen Marshall said. “We encourage people to donate because it’s an amazing feeling to be able to help.”
The blood drive is not only beneficial to the individuals who will later receive this blood, but it also impacts the student volunteers who organize the event.
“The blood drive is one of GSC’s service projects; they have one in the fall and one in February. It’s a service we do with the community but we do work with the Red Cross, as they assist us after we put it all together. The Red Cross sets a quota for each blood drive, and if we reach it, we will get college scholarship money that is divided between the girls,” GSC advisor Mary Boardman said.
Each GSC member has a role in orchestrating the event, whether it be checking donors in or standing by them and providing support while they get their blood drawn. The members recognize their position in the drive and how appreciated it is to help ease the nerves of donors throughout the entire process.
“My role as a GSC member in the blood drive is to make sure that everyone is well fed, hydrated and not scared or anxious. I personally am not donating because I can’t do needles, but I’m giving the support that I would appreciate in this situation,” senior member Carrington Pledger said.
The members strive to ensure that the drive runs as smoothly as possible, and that every donor gets the support they need after donating.
“The girls help whenever someone is donating, they are there as someone to support and they provide food and water to anyone who needs it because some people are a little squeamish. When they’re done, donors sit at a table and the girls make sure that they are sitting down for at least ten minutes and feeling good before they go back to class,” Marshall said.
Those who give blood may donate for a multitude of reasons, but the most common motivation is the feeling that donors will have after doing something to directly help individuals in need.
“I think it’s very important to help all of those in need because some of us are more fortunate than others, so if you’re willing to help it makes a big difference,” senior donor Max Williamson said.
Donors also have the opportunity to see exactly what difference they’ve made by donating, which is a factor that encourages many to participate.
“After donations, the Red Cross later dispenses the blood, and donors who have provided an email are able to track where their blood goes. They get to see what hospitals it goes to and who it helps,” Boardman said.
The blood drive has always proven to be a successful event due to the hard work of the Girl’s Service Club and its advisors, as well as the generosity and willingness of the various donors around campus. All of this year’s 156 donation slots were filled, and the event experienced an impressive turnout that is guaranteed to impact a great number of people in need.
