Lauren Rayman

    Student Council is currently preparing for the first blood drive of the year.

    The blood drive is being held on Monday, October 29 from 8-2. Students could sign up during their lunch period this past week and can still sign up at www.stowstuco.org/blood.

    Junior Abbey Staats is the chair of the committee this year. It is her first year being the chair of the committee, and she is very excited for the event.

    “This is my first year in the committee and I’m lucky to get to lead it. I love being in a committee where my committee members and I get to see all of the hard work we’ve put into that event,” Staats said.

    In previous years, American Red Cross has been the company they have used, but the committee decided to use Vitalant for the blood drive.

    “We actually went with a company called Vitalant this year because they offered us more support and easier communication and free T-shirts for every donor,” Staats explained.

    In order to promote the event, Student Council has been doing things like making posters and fliers, which can be found in the commons and throughout the school.

    Staats’s goal for the event was to have 50 donors signed up and there are currently 60. Vitalant was hoping for around 80 donors.

    The purpose of this event is to simply save lives, and each donation saves three lives. So many people want to donate blood simply because of this reason.

    Sophomore Jordan Lyle is donating blood for the first time on Monday. Lyle just turned 16 this year, so this is the first time she’s been eligible to do so.

    “I wanted to give blood because if I needed a type of blood and they didn’t have it because there was an issue I’d be a little upset,” Lyle said.

    Lyle is a little nervous to donate for the first time but is mostly excited and happy she has the opportunity.

    “I’m giving blood because I’ve always been interested in anything medical and I figured that this would be a good opportunity to try something new,” Lyle said.

    Running an event like the blood drive comes with many responsibilities. Staats had to take on many responsibilities to ensure that the event runs smoothly.

    “There are a lot of responsibilities with running any club, especially blood drive. If you left out one piece or detail, the whole event could flop. My main responsibility was staying in contact with Katy Neff, the Vitalant coordinator,” Staats said.

    Originally, the inspiration behind the event came from other schools and businesses. Many of these places do blood drives, and Stow Student Council saw how much of a difference it can make.

    Another main point of inspiration came from students just wanting to give back and help in any way possible, according to Staats.

    “Most students are so lucky to be healthy and it’s always good to help people who aren’t so healthy,” Staats said.

    Once the blood drive is over, Vitalant will deliver it to blood centers to test the blood to make sure it is safe to use. Students can learn what their blood type is once it goes through the blood centers. It is then transported to hospitals or wherever it may be needed.

    The next blood drive January 25, so be sure to look out for sign up dates.