Anything for the blood

Joey Flores, News Editor

June 14, 2013

At the Blood Drive, on June 6, the nurse prepares the needle for the next student who will donate blood. Downey High donated over 475 pints of blood.

Downey High School’s second Red Cross Blood Drive of the school year was held on Thursday, June 6 in the gym, and was open for students aged sixteen and older to donate their blood.

Downey has teamed up with the Red Cross and representative Robert Torres to run the drive every year, and the years of participation have begun to make the school more significant.

“The school has been an excellent team player when it comes to running these things,” Torres said. “We [Red Cross] have yet to run into serious issues when running it here, and I think that’s because of the amazing staff, students, and ASB.”

Torres’s praise for the school came from working with them for over a decade; each year brought strenuous working hours that eventually led to a good name for Downey High and more blood for the foundation. The representative proclaimed his satisfaction with the school by saying that the 700 sign-ups that the school received is the most the organization has had for a high school in ten years. The large amount of sign-ups resulted from publicity around the school.

ASB Commissioner of Human Relations Jerry Rivas, 11, was in charge of the drive.

“The publicity was surprisingly easy,” Rivas said. “The real hard part was the set-up and making sure everything stayed together and ran smoothly on the day of [the blood drive].”

Rivas and the rest of ASB publicized the event by posting posters and dressing up as a blood drop to get the word of out around school. The end result was a six-hour blood drive that collected over 475 pints of blood. With such chaotic factors to it, the drive required organization, which was found in the different, color-coded modules that the drive had. This order made for a sort of organized chaos that each donor experienced.

Sophomore Monica Rojas was one of many who stood through the two-hour line that the blood drive held.

“Yeah the line was long, but it really is a good thing because it’s for such a good cause,” Rojas said. “I’m just glad that I got to participate.”

The two-hour lines came from having a mere seventy-five nurses on staff, who were each assigned to a specific job. Half of the nurses grouped to give donors medical questioning, while the other half stayed ejecting the blood and making sure their patients were in proper health afterwards. However, there were some students who waited in the line, but were unable to donate due to issues pertaining to weight or blood count. Donors like Rojas stuck through the line in support for the cause.

Donors were both proud and exhausted by their accomplishment, and each of them contributed to another successful blood drive at Downey High School

About the Contributors

Joey Flores, News Editor

Joey Flores is a 14-year-old sophomore at Downey High as well as a writer and News Editor for The Downey Legend. Flores chose to join the 2012-2013 staff because he wants to gain experience in journalism, since he aspires to work for Details or Rolling Stone magazine. He plans to attend the University of Oxford or NYU. “I have a minor obsession with the U.K.,” Flores said when asked why he wanted to attend the University of Oxford. He admitted that he will miss his friends and family when he’s away for college, although he won’t be missing the California weather. The News Editor always preferred English over any other subject. “When I was younger I always preferred English because I felt that I had the freedom when it came to creative writing,” Flores said. Along with being on the newspaper, he is also taking Honors English 10, which will help enhance his writing skills. Flores’ main goals are to fulfill everything that comes his way and to come up with interesting stories that will receive multiple views. The staff member enjoys listening to indie and alternative rock. He is a big fan of the 80s band, The Smiths. Flores loves doing community service and is a member of the Key Club. The News Editor enjoys helping others and wants to help “beautify the community.” Flores has volunteered at recovery centers, like Rancho Los Amigos. He participated in a carnival for the disabled patients at the RLARC. “It was very eye-opening because you realize that they are incapable of doing much, but they never give up,” he said. Although Flores has a lot on his plate- being The Downey Legend’s News Editor, volunteering at rehabilitation centers, and succeeding in AP European History and Honors English 10- he will manage to stay on top of everything and make his sophomore year a memorable one.

Andrea Martinez, Photographer

Andrea Martinez ,11, is a photographer for The Downey Legend. Martinez first took an interest in photography when she signed up for Photojournalism, and now photography is one of her favorite hobbies. The main reason Martinez joined staff was because Miss. Napoli insisted she would be a perfect addition, not to mention she was also encouraged by her friends Brenda Lopez and April Rios. Her other hobbies include: volunteering at Downey Regional Medical Center and spending time with friends and family. Martinez is secretary for KIWIN’S club, and she absolutely loves it. She considers members of her club to be her second family. One of her personal goals as of right now is to get straight A s, while a goal for The Downey Legend is to simply become closer with everyone; she wants the newspaper staff to get as close and comfortable KIWIN’S club. “ I want them to be like my third family,” Martinez said. After high school she would like to travel the world and go on new and exciting adventures. One of the most special moments in her life was when her little sister Isabel was born. Martinez explained that when she was younger she always wanted a little sister or brother, so when Isabel was born, she became one of the most special people in her life. Although Martinez is still undecided about what major she wants to take on, she is very interested in medicine and loves children. With her incredible personality and hard work, she is sure to make any of her goals come through.