UHS Key Club hosts Red Cross blood drive

Published 4:00 pm Thursday, November 16, 2023

UMATILLA — If Halloween made you think of blood-sucking vampires, then the most recent Umatilla High School Key Club event foots the bill.

According to a press release from the Umatilla School District, the club teamed up with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive as a community service project on Oct. 30 in the school’s gymnasium. The UHS Key Club, a student-led organization, is sponsored by the Hermiston Kiwanis Club.

Leslie Rivera, a UHS senior and Key Club vice president, said in coordinating the effort with the Red Cross, club members are responsible for hosting and promoting the drive. In addition to putting up flyers at the school and around the city of Umatilla, she said they posted information on social media and manned a table during lunch to register students to donate.

Potential donors must be at least 16 years old and have parental permission unless they are older than 17, the press release stated. Key Club President Luis Ortiz, a UHS senior, said both students and community members donated, estimating that 50% or more were students.. He said the club deemed the effort as “very successful.”

Rivera said goals for the October blood drive, which were both met, included signing up at least 48 people for appointments and collecting at least 27 units. For various reasons, she said, some people are unable to donate. However, the drive exceeded its collection goal with 29 units.

“The benefit of giving blood is that it can change someone’s life,” Rivera said. “If at least one person donates, it makes a big difference.”

Samantha Erz, UHS science teacher and Key Club adviser, said the club was pleased with the results of the October blood drive. She said the student group has hosted 34 blood drives over many years. Those efforts, Erz said, have resulted in 1,118 units collected from a total of 1,370 donors — an average of 33 units during each blood drive.

“Without the hard work of the Key Club members, this may not have been possible,” she said. “Their dedication to this event has helped to make a significant impact on many lives.”

The UHS Key Club’s next blood drive is Feb. 22, 2024, noon to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Lizzy Burres, the district’s communications coordinator, at 541-922-6500 or burrese@umatillasd.org.

“The benefit of giving blood is that it can change someone’s life.”

— Leslie Rivera, UHS senior and Key Club vice president