The Red Cross Club at Segerstrom gives students the opportunity to get community service and help save lives. The club is associated with the American Red Cross organization along with helping the community. With the many service events they hold throughout the year, students are given the opportunity to get service hours while also helping their community. The blood drive is a yearly event that many Segerstrom students volunteer for, and also the club’s largest service event on campus.
There are three blood drives every year during fall, winter, and spring. Students are able to receive 6 hours of community service donating blood. The Red Cross club introduced a new method of donating blood during the 2024 winter blood drive, called Power Red, where they only collect the red blood cells, and with doing this donation you can get 12 hours of community service.
Senior Nicole Saldana, shares why she decided to donate, “I wanted to donate blood because I wanted to help others that are in need of blood.”
During the blood drive you are able to save up to three lives and find out your blood type. The Red Cross club shares how donating can make a great impact to many people and save many lives. Donating blood can help people who are suffering from something that requires blood transfusion. The blood drive is a great way to get supplies and save lives.
This year’s blood drive was held on March 18, 2024. The service event was held in the room with a view, and goes on throughout the whole school day. After donating, the students are given their community service form, a free t-shirt, plenty of snacks both before and after, and a $10 digital gift card. Power Red donors are gifted an additional $10 gift card. All students are entered into a raffle for goodie bags at the Red Cross club’s meeting after the blood drive.
Saldana shares how her donation experience went. “I felt okay. I wasn’t too nervous because I had donated before, after I felt a bit tired, but it goes away after a little. I felt better after drinking some water and eating a snack that they offered. Overall, my experience was good.”
The blood drive is beneficial for a variety of reasons. Students receive community service hours, allowing them to bulk up their transcript. They get gift cards. But most importantly, they have the opportunity to save lives, and that is what draws so many of our Jaguars into participating.
