Thursday, September 19, 2024
AZLE — During a recent school board meeting, Sept. 16, Azle High School was recognized by Carter Bloodcare and awarded a $2,000 grant for donating more blood than any other 5A high school in North Texas. CBC representative Yolanda Alsides presented the check to the AHS student council president and vice president, saying she was proud of the students for their efforts.
“It always amazes me the amount of high school students, especially at Azle High School, that (give blood) every year. (AHS is) always a leader there.”
Alsides said CBC collected 438 units of blood during the last school year, saving up to 1,082 lives. She said the school also had 236 first time blood donors. The school has been recognized for similar accomplishments several times in the recent past. Local high schools contribute about a quarter of the blood donated locally and are an invaluable part of the blood supply for patients in Texas, according to CBC. AHS has held one blood drive so far this year which was organized by student council members.
“Usually we'll be at school, like, 6:30 a.m. and we pull out all the tables and chairs that they'll need to set up,” President Chloe Hennessy said in an interview with the Tri-County Reporter. Hennessy said the council is responsible for setting up sign-in and check-out tables, placing arrows to give students directions, giving out passes and hanging posters to spread awareness for the event.
“We feel very honored, because there's a lot of schools that we go against,” Hennessy said of the recognition. “There's usually a ceremony held at the end of the year and there's always so many schools, so we feel honored to be able to be at the top. I think what makes us number one is maybe our drive to want to help others. Everybody here knows that it's for a good cause. We're doing it to help save lives and help people. So, I think that's probably our biggest drive… It just shows how well our community can come together and do something good.”
