It’s not everyday that students skip their valuable lunchtime or a class to help the medical community, but many did just that when they offered up their blood recently.

On Nov. 10, students had the opportunity to donate blood to the American Red Cross, a national organization that holds high school and community drives to stock medical blood banks. 

Leadership organized the event as a quick and simple way to get students participating to help the community. Duties included “making sure patients don’t faint, making sure they get back to classes,” said Leadership student and organizer Anusha Diyyala. 

In total, around 30 students gave about a pint of blood each during specific appointments throughout the day at a station Red Cross workers set up and operated in the gym. 

“It felt good to do something for the community,” said senior Nicole Jenkins, adding that she was a little nervous about donating for the first time. She said she watched the entire process and would donate again in the future.

The school annually supports the American Red Cross with this event, allowing participants who are 16 or older and who meet weight requirements to participate This marks Northgate’s first blood drive since shutting down for the pandemic in spring of 2020.

“We lost some blood drives due to schools closing, but we still keep going,” remarked Erica Vaniqued, a supervisor with the Red Cross who helped all day.