Unity Blood Drive returns to Carroll
Two years after the COVID-19 shutdown, the spring blood drive at Carroll High School has returned to the familiar ground of the Patriot gym.
The “Unity” blood drive on March 23 marked the sixth annual “Unity in the Community” campaign with rival Chaminade Julienne High School.
The closing of schools in March of 2020 meant cancelling proms and graduations, and at Carroll the school musical Bye Bye, Birdie, But Carroll re-opened the gym on the final day of virtual classes to reschedule the school blood drive. As the pandemic continued, Carroll shifted blood drives to Bloodmobiles.
“It’s our first indoors since 2020,” said science teacher and blood drive coordinator Laura Wright. “It makes it easier to come and go from classes when it’s down here.”
Wednesday’s return to the gym marked a step toward traditional collection goals. There were 70 donors, a 49% improvement from the 2021 spring blood drive, and 54 donations. The 44 first-time donors more than doubled the number of new donors from a year ago.
The annual “Unity in the Community” campaign is a partnership between Community Blood Center, Universal 1 Credit Union, and rivals Carroll and CJ. The schools host Unity blood drives and alternate choosing a charity to receive the Unity Award sponsored by Universal 1.
The sixth annual Unity in the Community campaign began with CJ’s Feb. 25 “Drop of Love” blood drive. It totaled 71 donors, 64 donations and 39 first-time donors.
Carroll will choose the recipient of the $1,000 Unity Award, which will be presented at an upcoming Carroll-CJ basketball game.
Freshmen Addy Westerfield and Sam Smith volunteered to organize the Carroll Unity blood drive. They found sponsors to donate pizza, donuts and cookies and directed volunteers.
“People signed up, that’s something we do here a lot,” said Addy. “So, everyone signed up to donate blood.”
“I’m always looking for opportunities to lead and serve the community,” said Sam. “It’s a very good cause. I also want to donate blood next year when I’m old enough to donate.”
“My mom is a pharmacist, she donates, and she’s always encouraging me and my brothers to donate,” said junior Nadia Severt. “It helps people and it’s a good cause.”
Junior Jacob Ruef Setting set a good example for new donors by making his fourth lifetime donation on Wednesday.
“My great-grandfather had a plaque downtown for donating a large amount of blood,” said Jacob. “It was really cool to see how big an impact he had and how many people he helped.”
Junior Brooke Close made her first donation Wednesday with a goal in mind. “Red Cord!” she said, about the CBC Red Cord Honor program for students who register to donate at least three times in their high school years. “It shows accomplishment in the blood drive and helping people.”
Three groups of Carroll students team up with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to raise money for cancer research
Three groups of Carroll students are joining the fight against blood cancers and vying for the title of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Student of the Year by raising funds for life-saving research.
LLS, the world's largest nonprofit fighting blood cancer, awards the title of Student(s) of the Year to the candidate or co-candidates in each community who raises the most funds during the competition. These Carroll students have seen the impact of blood cancers firsthand and are participating in the fundraising initiative to put an end to these diseases.
Brooke Grieshop '22
I decided to run for Student of the Year through the LLS in honor of my mom, Ellen Mason Grieshop, and my grandma, Marilyn Hohm Grieshop. Within the past two years, I have suffered through two events that have changed my outlook on cancer entirely. A few months ago, during this crazy COVID time, my grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer. After having many scans done, the doctors had determined that the cancer had traveled to her brain in many areas. She was in the process of battling cancer when she contracted COVID, and this lead to her passing. At that moment, I saw how cancer can take a loved one away from you. I saw first hand how cancer has a drastic impact on the patients and the family as a whole. Almost two years ago my mom was killed in a tragic car accident, which caused her to go into a coma and lose her life nine days later. This showed me how tomorrow isn't promised and how thankful we need to be for our family. My mom lived in constant fear of becoming the next cancer patient, as she lost both her parents before the age of eighteen due to cancer. I am convinced that God took my mom away to save her from having to go through the battle that is cancer and saving me from seeing her like that, as she once saw her own parents. If I reach 50,000 dollars, I can name a research grant after these two wonderful women. Let's put an end to cancer. Thank you!
McKenna Lange '23, Paxton Clark '23, and Hannah Wagner '23
We encourage you to join us in supporting LLS by making a donation to our fundraising campaign. By donating to LLS, you support the many facets of LLS’s mission work from investing in groundbreaking research, providing education and support to patients, and advocating at the state and federal level for legislation to help those living with cancer. Our appreciation for your support cannot be overstated — each and every dollar donated to LLS brings us closer to our goal to end blood cancer and makes an impact for cancer patients and their families.
As a global leader in the fight to end cancer, LLS is committed to doing more for blood cancer patients and families than any organization in the world. LLS’s signature fundraising campaigns drive critical support for its mission, including a nearly $1.3 billion investment in cutting edge cancer research worldwide since it was founded in 1949. Since the 1960s, survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled.
Every facet of LLS’s mission – research, education and support, and policy and advocacy – work in harmony to put blood cancer patients and their families first. LLS has helped millions impacted by cancer throughout its more than 70-year history, even funding breakthrough blood cancer research to advance lifesaving treatments and cures that is now helping patients with other cancers and diseases. That is why at LLS we say that beating cancer is in our blood.
Bailee Bolton '24
Hello, I’m Bailee Bolton, and I'm running for Student of the Year. My goal this year is to raise at least $10,000, and with your help, I can! I’m in this campaign because I watched a friend of mine go through leukemia, and it was so tough to watch his family struggle and try their best. I also just want to run for this amazing campaign since it is such an amazing cause and helps millions around the world. I want to be part of the difference we are going to make!