On Friday, March 25, 2022,  the high school hosted a blood drive with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, an event organized by junior Jiya Devnani. High school students were able to donate blood all throughout the day at a truck supplied by the blood center and for doing so, they were given a t-shirt and a ticket to a water park that was valid through the summer. For full IB students, this was a valuable CAS experience as well. Around 40 people signed up and many more donated!

“I already volunteer with the Red Cross and I wanted to connect that with my CAS Project,” said junior Devnani, an attendee of the event. “I donated blood in the fall and it was really beneficial [for people].” 

As a full IB student, she is required to complete a CAS project and Devnani chose to devote it to something that she previously had a connection to through the Red Cross and values in her life. Devnani is passionate about medicine and wishes to pursue a career in the field as well. She also participates in various medical opportunities that are offered at Village such as the Pre-Medical Science Academy. The successful student focuses her life on helping those around her through large and small impacts! Giving blood has value past that as it can help patients that are in need of blood because of surgeries, other treatments, and more. The need for blood is constant and organizing blood drives such as this allows for more people to donate blood when they’re eligible.