On Wednesday, February 28, the National Honor Society held a blood drive in the auditorium to benefit the American Red Cross. NHS advertised the blood drive during a two-week period in which they ran commercials on the morning announcements, talked it up all over school, put up posters, and set up tables during LAP to encourage people to sign up and donate.

Junior Brittany Salmon “loved organizing and helping out with the blood drive.” Salmon stated that she was “so glad we [NHS] got so much blood donated (approximately 51 pints). It feels good helping out others in the community.”

For first-time blood donor Hassan Qudsi, the somewhat tedious process of giving blood and waiting was not a problem. “[It felt] good to be waiting to do something really noble. Giving blood shouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s interesting actually,” Qudsi stated.

Blood donors went through a series of steps before donating blood. First, they were tested for iron deficiency, and then their blood pressure, pulse and temperature were taken. Donors then answered some questions and, finally, were sent to a nurse who takes their blood. After donating, the students are given stickers, T-shirts and refreshments. “I feel perfectly fine, maybe a little painful where the needle was - kind of like a bruise, but not bad at all,” junior Kurt Pung claimed after his blood donation.

Doing a good deed made individuals feel good, and donating blood was one of those deeds. Senior Kristina Straub “felt really good” because she knew that she had “made a difference.”