On March 26, Paint Branch students once again helped save lives when the National Honor Society (NHS) worked with INOVA to host the annual spring blood drive. NHS Secretary Rebekah Senderling and NHS sponsor Ms. Kimmel coordinated the blood drive.

PB students were eager to participate in the drive. According to Senderling, every unit of blood helps approximately three lives.

NHS actually hosts a blood drive twice a year. Each event provides a great opportunity for students to help those in need and earn a real sense of fulfilment. Dhruv Mathur, a member of the NHS Blood Drive Committee, said,

Though the blood drive is about helping others, students may also benefit from participating in the blood drive. If a student donates blood four times throughout his/her high school career, s/he receives an additional cord to wear at graduation.

According to NHS President Laura VanDemark, this year’s numbers were a little lower, something she thought stemmed from the fact that they could not accept verbal consent from parents this year. However, despite the lower numbers, VanDemark said, “We still had a strong number of donors and the blood drive was a great success.”

NHS Sponsor Mrs. Kimmel said, “It’s always so inspiring to watch the students at PB enthusiastically do something so selfless that can potentially  make such a huge impact on someone’s life.  I also love watching my NHS students help run such a large scale event.  We’ve become like a well-oiled machine and it’s just so much fun to be a part of!”