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 Bay port teacher Mr. Stubbe is glad to donate for a good cause
- Photo by Josh Eilers
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 By Josh Eilers
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Here it comes again, another Bay Port High School blood drive which has a positiveimpact on people’s lives. It helps out so many people and even keeps some people alive with the blood donated. Not only that but the school and individual students could benefit from giving blood. Bay Port receives scholarship money from the Red Cross based on how much blood is donated.
In fact, Bay Port receives anywhere from $500 to $2000 for scholarships depending on how much blood is donated. A unit has approximately a pint or 450 milliliters. The goal for the last blood drive was around 60 units and the goal for this coming up blood drive is around 80 units. Student council is shooting for a higher number because there is usually more blood donated during the day rather than after school, which is when the last blood drive was in February. The next blood drive is on April 19th and it will be during the day. “Blood drives are so much more than a person donating his or her blood to save a stranger's life--someone who comes to donate blood may save someone I love or one of my best friends. Life is a vapor, and none of us know what tomorrow will bring,” said student council member Rachael McCrary.
The scholarships can usually be earned by anyone, which is a great reason why people should donate blood. Usually all students need to do is write a paper on why to donate blood or why to volunteer in general. Other great benefits for donating include saving a life, getting scholarship money, and looking great on a resume. If donors were to go to one of the Red Cross’ other sites to donate, they would be given food. In reality, donors get more here because the student council buys food and adds it in with what the Red Cross has. Not only that but students typically will not travel to another site to donate. “I want everyone to have the comfort of knowing that if something were to happen to someone they care about, the person could receive the blood he or she needs to save their life. This is such a personal way for people to show they care and make a difference, whether they are in contact with a case like this or not,” said Rachael McCrary.
Students who donate blood will not usually travel to a different site to donate blood because of gas money and other reasons, which is why student council started doing the blood drives at Bay Port. They began about 10 years ago because the demand for blood was huge, student donors are important, and Bay Port gets scholarship money from the Red Cross for doing the blood drives at Bay Port. “What is really great about blood drives is that it brings together a very diverse group of people. At a blood drive you will find young, old, and everyone in between, who all have different hobbies, occupations, and interests. The one thing they have in common is that they are heroes. To me, that is the best part of a blood drive,” says senior Rachael McCrary.
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