As you may have known, there was a blood drive in the Barlow student parking lot on February 21st. Brooke Rinard, a senior at Barlow, played a massive part in putting this event together. Rinard coordinated with the American Red Cross to estimate how many donations they thought they could get, advertised, and organized the event.
Rinard said, “…during my TA period with April Anderson, she helped me coordinate it and helped me advertise.” She made lots of posters and graphic advertising for social media.
Rinard was inspired because people in her life have needed blood transfusions, so she thought doing this was a great way to help an important cause. Rinard helped with this event for the last three years, but wanted to take on a more significant role in her senior year.
Unfortunately, the Red Cross had to cancel this event halfway through the day due to low staff, but this didn’t stop them from getting a few donors! Although there were supposed to be around 20 people donating, they only got half of them through due to the cancellation.
Rinard says, “…at least we have students that were interested…their hearts were in the right place.” When this blood gets donated, it goes to a blood bank. Then, any patient undergoing something and needing blood will be matched by their blood type. Rinard explained that they will have another blood drive in May, so “…get enough sleep, eat and drink water, take care of your body, and make sure you are eligible to donate.”
