On February 24th, MHS students helped to take charge of a Blood Drive hosted at Cannon Falls High School. They had a goal of collecting 23 units of blood; they surpassed the goal and ended up getting 28 units donated. These 28 units were part of the almost 12,000 units of blood collected and distributed every day by the American Red Cross.

While blood donations might not seem like much for those who are giving, it can mean the difference between life and death for those who need it. There are about 150,000 Blood Drives every year, 3-4 of which happen here at the Cannon Falls High School. Many of the donors were students and teachers here in Cannon Falls. Lily Nelson, a Junior, gave blood at this drive. She enjoys this, explaining, “It makes me not only feel super grateful for my body but also grateful for all those who have donated in the past.” Since she has type O+ blood, her blood can go on to help anyone with A+, B+, AB+, or O+ blood types. Lily also helped out to keep the blood drive running smoothly throughout the day by working at the greeting table. Along with Lily, another key person at the blood drive was Kirsten Hoffman.

Hoffman has helped to set up and run many blood drives at the High School. She’s also the leader of the Minnesota Honor Society, which is the student group that runs the drive while it’s happening. Hoffman told MHS members in an email to thank them for helping, “Next Blood Drive is scheduled for May 18!”

Currently, the American Red Cross is trying to help with the Blood Shortage across the country, but they can’t do it without donors. So they have a few incentives for donating. At the time of this drive, a $20 gift card was given out; now it’s moved to $15. While giving blood does come with a gift card at this time, the reason someone gives blood should not be for the gift card; it should be to help others.