Ms. Conner, Director of Service, hopes that people in the community can acknowledge that life-saving doesn’t require “wearing tights and a cape and jumping off a building,” Ms. Conner said. It can also look like spending just 30 minutes of your day giving blood.
Ms. Conner, Director of Service, hopes that people in the community can acknowledge that life-saving doesn’t require “wearing tights and a cape and jumping off a building,” Ms. Conner said. It can also look like spending just 30 minutes of your day giving blood.
Ms. Conner, Director of Service, hopes that people in the community can acknowledge that life-saving doesn’t require “wearing tights and a cape and jumping off a building,” Ms. Conner said. It can also look like spending just 30 minutes of your day giving blood.
On Tuesday, Sept. 19, La Salle’s new Director of Service, Ms. Olivya Conner, sat in front of the gym, diligently asking any passersby if they had a moment to spare.
“I think I created a lot of commotion,” she said, “which I don’t regret.”
If students were over the age of 16 and weighed 125 pounds, they had the opportunity to potentially save a life in the span of a half hour.
Students, staff, parents, and other members of the community who took on this opportunity filtered through the gym throughout the day to donate blood through the organization Bloodworks Northwest.
Although the blood bank technicians and staff were prepared for 60 donors, by Tuesday only 30 were signed up, and about 26 people ended up donating. It wasn’t the turnout Ms. Conner anticipated for her first blood drive, but she still felt it served as an important learning experience in her role as Director of Service and was an overall success. She has hopes to improve the turnout for the next drive, taking place in the spring.
Aware of the events of last year’s spring blood drive, Ms. Conner acknowledged that there is often some hesitancy when it comes to donating blood. “I think on the one hand, there were certainly obstacles of getting the word out, getting people excited about it,” Ms. Conner said. “Every other person I talked to was afraid of needles or afraid of blood … it’s more like how do you convince someone that facing your fear of needles is worth it or how do you convince someone it’s not as scary as it seems.”
As a two-time donor, senior Violet Sheehan encourages donations. “It’s really easy,” she said. “It’s really simple, it’s not too hard, they make you feel really safe and comfortable. There’s really great snacks and it’s just a relaxing hour of helping someone who really needs it.”
The blood drive is one of the first of many service events that Ms. Conner will be coordinating throughout the year.
“As the Director of Service, and as someone who cares so much about service, I really want students to know whether you’re doing a blood drive, or going to Blanchet House, or Rahab’s Sisters, or anything else like that, it’s okay to be nervous, and it’s okay to be scared,” Ms. Conner said. “But know that you are safe, you’re loved, and that what you’re doing is important.”