On Feb. 28,  Key Club and National Honors Society teamed up for the Parkway West blood drive. The two clubs spent months setting up and planning for the event, from making posters, to contacting Impact Life to getting volunteers to getting student and staff donors. But how did it all happen?

The planning process didn’t begin in February, but months prior, in Oct. 2023, when NHS and Key Club contacted Impact Life for this year’s blood drive, setting up a date where no other events overlapped and to book the North Gym for the day.“Our biggest change [from previous years] has been the date — changing the drive from after spring break to before spring break,” English teacher and  Key Club co-sponsor Andria Benmuvhar said.

“The blood drive needs a lot of planning,” co-president of Key Club and senior Naira Ali said. “Luckily, the NHS and Key Club sponsors did a lot of coordinating to set up the blood drive, and I’m grateful to them for that. My role was to help out with recruitment and gather volunteers for the day of the blood drive, which took a couple of weeks.”

The blood drive had around 20-25 student volunteers who helped recruit donors. There were 85 slots open for students wanting to donate blood, not including staff members who will be going in and out throughout the day. Signup is easier said than done, however, according to the organizers; despite being able to donate blood without parent permission at 16 years of age, the school still requires parent signatures for their kids to donate.

“According to Impact Life and [other blood donation places] like Red Cross, if you are 16, you need parent permission, but if you’re 17 or older you do not. We want to make sure parents are aware that their child has signed up to give blood. We made it mandatory that everybody has that parent permission slip signed, which is probably the hardest part from my end,” Benmuvhar said.

Despite the new obstacle, many students were still able to donate and make a difference by giving one pint of blood, able to help three people who need it. Approximately 50 students signed up to donate in the North Gym from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. as volunteers helped with setting out snacks, and signing students in.

“One thing I like about the blood drive is that so many people from our school come to help out the community, from volunteering to donating. I find it really important that we try to make a difference and help people suffering in the community,” Ali said.

NHS co-sponsor and French teacher Blair Hopkins both organized and donated on the day of the blood drive. Hopkins had been a regular blood donor since she was 14.

“It saves lives. Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion. Usually it’s accident victims, burn victims, people battling cancer, people going through organ transplants or other surgery. They could be a baby or a 90-year-old. We probably all know a person who has needed at least one blood transfusion,” Hopkins said. “There’s no doubt donating makes a huge difference. I love that it is something almost everyone can do to help their community, regardless of who you are or what your skill set might be.”