Northeast Missouri School Districts host blood drives during critical

MACON & SCHUYLER COUNTIES, Mo. — The holiday season is a time for giving.

While families share gifts with one another, it’s also a critical time to give blood.

According to American Red Cross, every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.

The Atlanta C-3 and Schuyler County R-1 School Districts hosted blood drives Thursday to give community members an opportunity to donate.

Atlanta’s efforts were spearheaded by the district’s National Honor Society chapter.

Officers and other members of the chapter participated as part of an effort to pursue scholarship opportunities while pitching in to fill a nationwide demand.

Atlanta NHS President Kambery West told KTVO they were honored to serve their community.

“Being able to host this as such a small school, I think it’s great that we get to give back to maybe even community members,” West said. “We actually as students and members have to go reach out to the community as well as other people outside of our town to come donate, and I think it helps us talk to people and engage with the community trying to get people to come help us out.”

Schuyler County’s efforts were led by their FFA chapter. Each year they host two blood drives, one during the holiday season and another before the end of the school year.

Schuyler’s FFA chapter advisor Karley Dufur told us they take great pride in helping during such a critical time to donate blood.

“It’s one of our big community service projects a year,” Dufur said. “One of the main purposes of the FFA is to give back to our community, and we are in a blood shortage, so this is a very important thing for us to do.”

If you weren’t able to attend Thursday’s drives, there are more opportunities to give around Northeast Missouri. Check out the community events calendar here.