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Pence Elementary students organize blood drive
FAIRFIELD – A group of Pence Elementary School students in Fairfield helped organize a blood drive in February.
The blood drive was held at the school on Feb. 23, where students in grades second through fourth promoted the blood drive with posters, brought snacks for the donors, and asked the donors questions after their donation. The students who put on the blood drive were all members of a “Leader in Me” group, specifically the Crisis Team and Emergency Responder Student Leadership Group led by teachers Suzy Nelson and Carleigh Roberts.
Second-grader Carter Manning said he was proud to help with the blood drive, and that he appreciated the community’s support. He said blood drives really hit home now because his mother is battling breast cancer, and she could be one of the people helped by a blood infusion.
“It makes us happy to know we’re saving lives,” Carter said. “One lady who came in said it was her first time donating blood.”
Nelson said the students in her Leader in Me group met with a blood drive organizer months ago to decide on a good date for this blood drive. They met with a representative from ImpactLife, previously known as Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, a blood center that serves portions of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. Once they settled on a date, the students got to work making promotional save-the-date posters and flyers. The students donated snacks, and encouraged teachers and family members to donate, too.
Another Leader in Me group, one devoted to Community Connections, also made posters to advertise the blood drive, and spread the word on social media.
Since it was the first time that the Crisis Team had organized a blood drive, they set a goal of getting 20 people to sign up, and they exceeded that goal. By the date of the blood drive, 26 people had signed up, and even more came through the door who had not signed up.
Nelson explained that the Leader in Me group that she and Roberts lead meets twice a month. The focus of their specific group is about being proactive about crises, and getting children to see that they are not helpless in the face of adversity.
“We know that crises happen, emergencies happen, and you often feel that you don’t have any control over anything,” Nelson said. “We want our students to see that there are things we can do to be proactive. In the fall, we talked about fire safety and smoke alarms. Now we’re thinking about being proactive by donating blood, so that if someone needs blood, there is blood available. That’s something we can be proactive and help with. We just want to encourage that civic duty.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
