Windham High School’s National Honor Society is a club that provides an opportunity for high-performing academic achievers to follow the pillars of character, leadership and service. To that end NHS members hosted a blood drive earlier this month at the school to make an impact for the community.
“As a society, one of our ‘Three Tiers’ is service, so we strive to give back to the community and demonstrate acts of service,” said NHS senior Jordan Davis-Belanger, an officer with the school club whose members have a Grade Point Average of at least 93 out of 100. “This is one of the few drives we do that goes so much further beyond just our town, so that makes it even more special.”
Honor Society members at Windham High School hosted blood drives long before current school NHS advisor Brandon Champion began working with the club. He said that since the American Red Cross blood drive helps provide blood to those in need, donations may go to a burn victim, someone suffering from cancer, trauma, sickle cell patient, or a patient who may have a chronic disease.
“It is inspiring we can affect more than just our small community,” said NHS Officer Addie Profenno, a senior at WHS. “Donating blood is an opportunity for public service and making a major impact for the greater good.”
Profenno and Davis-Belanger helped promote the collection effort and sign-up students throughout the entire blood drive. Students making blood donations came into the drive hydrated and fed. While waiting for an open table, the student participants filled out a RapidPass and completed a vital health check.
“It was a lot of hard work, learning to navigate the Red Cross website, making it accessible for our volunteers,” said Profenno. “We also had to communicate with Geoff from the Red Cross in order to get information. But in the end, it was worth the time and effort since it was run smoothly, and we impacted our community.”
Some of their communication to students before the day of the blood drive includes sharing with them that when donating blood, it is important to eat iron-rich foods during the week of the blood drive. For instance, eating foods like spinach, beef, eggs, nuts, and chicken improves blood quality.
“Donating blood is a way for students to impact not just our community but reaches out further to whomever receives the blood. It can give students a sense of accomplishment.” said Profenno.
Every 2 seconds in the USA someone needs blood and statistically speaking only 6 percent of the population donates blood. After students had donated blood at the WHS drive, they were sent to a table where they were observed for 15 minutes before returning to class. This provided safety for the students in the event of possible side effects.
Millions of people rely upon blood transfusions each year. While some require blood during surgery, others may need it following a serious accident or if they have contracted a blood disease. Blood donations like the one offered at Windham High by NHS students make this possible. There is no substitute for human blood and all blood transfusions use blood collected from a donor during a blood drive.
“Something that's super great is that members of the NHS not only gave time out of their day to volunteer at the blood drive, but they also volunteered to give their blood,” said Davis-Belanger.
In the Windham community, there are ongoing drives and to check requirements, eligibility, or locations, visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/. <
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