JEFFERSON — There was a feeling of fellowship in the hallways of the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School on Oct. 13 and 14 as the school held its annual fall blood donation drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross. Officials said 232 students donated and collected 182 pints of blood this year, a record for the school.
The amount collected “exceeded the school’s goal by 16 pints,” said Gilda McQuoid, instructional coordinator at the ACJVS, and one of the principle organizers of the blood drive.
Helping this year’s effort was a change in regulations which allowed 16-year-old students to donate for the first time, as long as they received their parents’ permission. Shannon Cheney, an instructor for the school’s Health Care Tech program, said having 16 year olds donate this year helped a lot.
ACJVS principal Jon Whipple said the success of the drive belongs to many people. “It is encouraging and uplifting to know that close to 40 percent of our student body not only recognizes the importance of donating blood, but they were willing to roll up their sleeves and donate,” he said.
The Red Cross coordinates more than 100 bloodmobile drives throughout Ashtabula County throughout the school year. Red Cross team supervisor Aaron Husted said, “Seven hundred pints are needed per day in order to keep up with demand and the ACJVS provided almost 200 pints.” Husted also adds that since there are two world-renowned hospital systems in the region, such as University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic, blood supply demand is much greater in this area. In evaluating how ACJVS compares with blood drives conducted by other schools in the county, Husted said, “It is one of the best due to the organization and the number of pints (of blood) the ACJVS provides.”
This year, the Health Care, Graphic Communications and Business Tech career plan students at the ACJVS played a huge role in planning and executing the blood drive. The Business Tech students created the signup sheets for students and staff and helped in scheduling the appointment times for donors to give blood. They also came up with the slogan for this year’s drive, “Are you going to be a Lifesaver today?”
“Every time you donate (a pint of blood) you save three lives, so each donor was given three (candy) lifesavers,” said Business Tech instructor Marianne Gullo.
The Graphic Communications students chipped in on the effort by creating a promotional bulletin board to help announce the drive effort, which has been held for more than 25 years.
Perhaps the greatest effort was made by the school’s Health Care Tech students. These students helped sign in the donors, give them the pre-donation materials they have to read, and take care of the donors after they have given blood and monitor their recovery.
Ms. Cheney said since the students in this career path program intend to go into the health care field, the blood drive is a great learning experience for them.
Many donors, like student Jessica Brown, stated they had a personal reason for donating this year. Brown said, “My mom had to get a blood transfusion, and I want to help someone else who is just as worthy.”
Another blood drive is due to be conducted by the Red Cross at the ACJVS in March, and the preparation for that event has already begun.
