Next week, NDA will hold the first of its three annual blood drives. Over 60 people are signed up to give.

Mr. Daniel Kriegl, campus minister, organizes this drive and has been doing so for as long as he has worked here. He has student volunteers to assist and assure the health of those donating throughout the day.

The students that will be helping out all day are Laney Chosa, Abby Meyer and Claire Kini. Other students that are willing to help out will assist during their study halls.

The biggest challenge to making the goal for blood donated is having people deferred for different reasons, such as weight, height and iron content in the blood.

These restrictions are a major concern with high school students because if you are even missing one of the qualities, you cannot give blood.

In my personal experience, all of my levels were correct, but my veins were too small to donate so I was deferred.

If the goal for the drive is achieved for all three events, the school is awarded a $1000 scholarship from the Red Cross that can be awarded to a student who has helped out or given blood consistently.

Each pint of blood can help three people survive injuries, surgeries or even blood diseases. The NDA community strives to help in any way they can and encourages students to give blood whenever they can.

As a reward for those who are brave enough to donate blood, Culver’s provides a free pint of ice cream. After donors complete their feat, there is a station with snacks and water where donors can sit and recover before going back to class.

The blood drive is an opportunity to give back with only around 20 minutes of your time while contributing to a greater good.

At this time there is a national shortage of blood so every donation counts towards this shortage.