By Ethan Martinez

The gift of charity comes once again to the campus with the annual blood drive hosted by the ROTC department. Students at the age of sixteen and older are eligible to donate their blood to the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center for use in hospitals around the country.

“Doing this finally helped me do something good for once and it helps save lives,” junior Andrew Verdi said.

According to the American Red Cross Foundation, more than 41,000 donations need to be met every day. A tall order, but can be met when students come hand in hand to donate a pint of blood.

“Many people have blood deficiencies and they don’t have the proper blood, so we need donors to offer their blood and help people live,” senior Elvonte Parker said. “It also helps you get out of a class for a bit and do a good deed while doing it.”

Parker ran the blood the drive this year, bringing students from all over the school together to perform the acts of good will.

“About 173 to about 200 students signed up this year,” Parker said. “There were all sorts of students that donated this year, the laid back, the heavy hitters, the hard workers, there were all types of students and it made me really happy.”

The wide variety of students bring more than just a sense of unity; the feelings of accomplishment and bravery arise as well.

“People should do it for a good cause but also the fact that they get the feeling of helping someone who really needs it,” junior Nicole Pecina said.

With an estimated amount, approximately 66 lives continue to live with the help of the blood drive on September 30.