The National Honor Society (NHS) hosted its first blood drive Oct. 10 in Meyer Hall. Throughout the day, students aged 16 and older were allowed to donate blood and plasma to OneBlood, a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to save lives by “inspiring and educating our communities and team members to continuously champion blood donations.”
Co-blood drive coordinator for NHS (along with visual senior Aleyna Macdonald) and band senior Summer Irwin, is in charge of organizing the three blood drives held throughout the 2025-2026 school year.
The drive was Halloween-themed, with decorations in Meyer Hall featuring bats and vampires. While they waited, the donors watched Halloween movies and were provided with snacks and drinks before and after donating blood to “allow your body to replace the blood that was drawn much quicker,” according to Oneblood.
Upon finishing their donation, they were offered a complimentary “pumpkin-spice latte” themed tee-shirt and a voucher for a free meal at the chicken chain restaurant, PDQ.
“I think the themes are a cool way to get people involved (in the blood drive), and the Halloween theme specifically gets people into that spooky mood,” Irwin said.
To encourage students to donate, the NHS sent member volunteers to all classrooms for “blitzing,” where they explained the blood drive’s purpose and how to sign up five days before the drive.
“I’ve seen the amount of lives and blood we’ve saved, and I know the difference that it could make in the community,” Irwin said. “I wanted to be a part of making it better.”
