The Smoke Signal

By Staff Writer Shiantel Chiang

Leadership 2 (L2) held the 2017 Fall Blood Drive on October 20, partnering with Stanford Blood Center to collect blood from student and staff donors at MSJ.

With the help of Activities Director Ben Breazeale, the L2 Community Committee, consisting of Junior Samantha Wang and Seniors Angela Lu, Michelle Zhang, Joshua Kingsley, and Alan Hsing, ran the event. They began preparations in early September, meeting with a representative from Stanford Blood Center who explained the blood drive process and how to prepare for it. They spent the next few weeks diligently planning the schedule, sign-ups, and forms. The committee, with the help of all L2 members, publicized the blood drive and campaigned for student and staff donors through Facebook flyers, posters, morning announcements, and letters sent directly to teachers.

Committee members and L2 volunteers set up sign-in and sign-out booths in the Flex Room on the morning of October 20. They also prepared a canteen snack area in the B-Wing Cafeteria, where donors would have their blood drawn. Throughout the day, registered volunteers were called from their classes to the Flex Room, where committee members went through basic instructions and mandatory forms before being escorted to the B-Wing Cafeteria to have their blood drawn. As the event progressed, an unexpected fire alarm went off during third period, and committee members rapidly prepared for potential evacuation. Luckily, with swift direct communication using walkie-talkies, they were able to determine that it was a false alarm and did not have to evacuate people who were donating blood.

The drive collected 83 units of blood, estimated to potentially impact 249 patients. This year’s collected amount exceeded both their initial goal of 74 units and last year’s collection of 80 units.

MSJ will hold their Spring Blood Drive in March 2018. “Since there is an age minimum of 16, by upcoming March, a lot more people will be able to and hopefully willing to donate,” said Lu. She hopes the Spring Blood Drive collects more than 96 units, the record amount set in the 2015 Fall Blood Drive.

Graphic by Graphics Editor Evangeline Chang