The FBLA/DECA and NHS officers attended the Blood Drive Workshop, hosted by Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (CBCO), on September 25, 2024.
During the workshop the CBCO was hoping to excite and educate the officers at Fair Grove, as Mrs. Overstreet explained. She also added, “They learned the importance of hosting a drive, the timeline and layout leading up to the event, and ways to market and encourage others.”
One of the students, Gretta Morris (12), attended this Blood Drive Workshop. She said, “The blood drive workshop was a great opportunity to meet new people, get out of your comfort zone, perform in front of other schools, and have some great opportunities.”
There were things that the CBCO taught the students that attended the workshop. Morris stated, “I learned how to take care of patients, talk to new people, and continue a conversation when others are giving blood. I also learned steps to take when there’s an emergency during the blood drive.”
Morris also added, “My favorite activity at the blood drive was explaining our why. Why do we volunteer at blood drives?” She also explained that her “why” is through her religion and that she helps others because of her religion.
CBCO running the Blood Drive Workshop was helping these students understand the reasoning and facts behind the drive. Mrs. Johnson said, “We want to help out our surrounding community hospitals.”
The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks hosts this workshop every year for schools to attend to. During the workshop, Mrs. Overstreet said, “Our officer teams creatively pitched their ideas.” She also said that during the workshop the Fair Grove students pitched these ideas to the other school’s clubs and groups. They ended up winning 1st place and won a $100 gift card to use for their Blood Drive in the upcoming spring.
For the upcoming blood drives, Morris expressed her excitement for them, saying, “I’m very excited to participate this year because it makes me feel happy to help others.”
The NHS students and FBLA/DECA officers were training so they could help out their community by hosting their own Blood Drive. NHS hosts their Blood Drive in the winter while FBLA/DECA have the second Blood Drive in the spring.
These blood drives help many people throughout the Ozarks. Mrs. Johnson said that they usually have around 75 successful donations from the NHS winter blood drive. She also says that each donation of blood they give, on average could help three people.
The NHS blood drive will occur on December 3rd, 2024 and is also conducted by CBCO, with the help of students from Fair Grove.
