According to America’s Blood Centers, one in seven people entering the hospital need blood. The gift of blood is invaluable, and just fifteen minutes of donating could save the life of another.

Homestead was one of the first schools in Ozaukee County to hold a blood drive.  The blood from Homestead’s annual blood drive is donated to the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, which gives the blood to local people in need.

“If you need blood and they don’t have your type available, it is a huge problem.  When you take 145 students and potentially a handful of those students are type O blood, we are giving them [BloodCenter of Wisconsin] the type of blood that is so important,” Mrs. Dawn Pfaff, head of student council, said.

With around 170 blood donations last year alone, Homestead High School is making a big difference in the lives of local recipients through the school’s blood drive.

The success of Homestead’s blood drive would not be possible without the help of the Student Council. Student Council does a lot more than what meets the eye, and without them not as many lives would be affected by the donations.

Similar to Prom and Homecoming, the blood drive also has a theme.  The theme of this year is Give from the Heart, since it will be near Valentine’s day on Friday, Feb. 19.

“[The] blood drive is one of the biggest events of the year so a lot of work goes into it. Student Council splits up into several different committees to accomplish different parts of the drive,” Rachel Fu, sophomore, said.

Every Tuesday for 30 minutes before school, there is a full Student Council meeting, and many members also complete additional work along with weekly committee meetings until the day of the blood drive.

“My favorite part about being on Student Council is being able to see all the work and behind the scenes planning and stuff that goes into all the events,” Fu said.

Student Council promotes the blood drive by making posters, having a message on morning announcements, making the theme and going around to lunch tables to talk about the event.

To communicate the message, they are in close communication with the BloodCenter of Wisconsin; they go to Tuesday meetings to see the progress of each committee, as well as put the donors names into a huge spreadsheet provided by the BloodCenter of Wisconsin.

The set-up work entails placing the decorations in the field house, giving the students information about how to eat and prepare for donating their blood, figuring out which student can come during which hour and then writing the passes for each student.

To thank the donors, Student Council designs t-shirts and gets food ready for the students after they donate.

“… When you have to work together to make something that the entire student body will see, it really changes how to deal with situations. You always have to look at things on a bigger scale, and time management is key in this group,” Melissa Le, sophomore, said.

A lot of behind the scenes work Student Council does goes unnoticed by students and faculty not involved. Student Council is looking forward to their blood drive, but have their checklist to finish before they can have a successful day.