Jamie Kimbrell
Staff Writer
@jaynicole2015

On a normal Thursday in a Coppell High School gym, you would typically see basketball practice or dance class, but on Oct. 29, the annual Red Jackets Blood Drive occurred at CHS. Throughout the day, Red Jackets worked with members of Carter Blood Care to collect blood for the Carter Blood Bank.

From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Carter Blood Care volunteers worked to collect blood at stations in the small gym by students and members of the Coppell community who chose to donate. CHS Red Jackets organized and led donors to make the event run smoothly.

“Managing a lot of people all at once and delegating and getting them to where they need to go has helped me grow as a leader because you have to be able to keep thinking straight [and] stay organized under a lot of pressure,” senior Red Jacket Katie Yut said.“[People come] in waves, so like there are times when there are a lot of people here at once.”

The event’s success can also be attributed to the number of people who signed up to donate.

“We had a lot of people signed up to donate,” senior Red Jacket Ashley Bartlett said before the blood drive. “It felt good to have so many people signed up for the cause.”

Students who donated blood can receive double red cords on their graduation day for charity work and participating in events such as the blood drive.

“Being a senior, we get a cord when we graduate and so participating in the blood drive helps you get the cord,” CHS senior Kylie Clark said. “I always like helping out people, especially because I would always want to be helped out if I needed it.”