Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. In fact, the American Red Cross says that amounts to 29,000 units of red blood cells needed daily. At Englewood High School, students are stepping up to help meet that need, turning a single school day into a life-saving effort for hospitals and patients across Colorado.
On April 1, 2026, it was no April Fool’s joke that dozens of students chose to be poked with a needle. They took part in the biannual National Honor Society (NHS) Blood Drive. NHS partners with Vitalant, one of Colorado’s largest organizations charged with blood collection, testing, and distribution of the life-saving resource. The Englewood blood drive has grown into one of the school’s most consistent service events, bringing together students, staff, and community partners twice a year.
Inside the donation area, students rotated through check-in tables, waited in recovery chairs with snacks in hand, and supported one another through the process, creating an atmosphere focused on service and encouragement rather than fear.
Senior Caleb Davis is a returning donor. “What made me donate blood was first my English teacher, Miss Fuller, telling me about it, and the other thing was just wanting to help people who need blood.”
After donating, it is important to sit for at least 15 minutes to ensure donors are healthy enough to safely continue through the rest of the day. “I feel good about getting my blood drawn; it wasn’t that bad. I know people think that the needles were scary and stuff, but they do cover them, so it does make it easier for them,” Davis said.
Senior Dylan Noll is the president of the National Honor Society and plays a key role in organizing the event. “The biggest thing for officers and the President specifically, is kind of planning and running the projects we do. So, for example, earlier this year, I ran a really successful toy drive, filling up two trucks full of toys and donating them. We work with other schools or programs, like the blood drive. So it’s really about working with other people and communicating to kind of run our projects and make sure you know we’re playing a part in our community, right?”
Many Englewood businesses donate food for the event, including Calore, Jersey Mike’s, Santiago’s, Starbucks, Lamar’s Donuts, Chick-fil-A, and Parry’s Pizza, helping support donors and volunteers throughout the day and reinforcing the strong connection between the school and local businesses.
“I think today’s gone great,” Noll said of the success of the blood drive. “We’ve gotten tons of food donations, and we’ve all picked them all up. Everything’s been on time. Everything’s looking amazing. It’s really growing great.”
Every single donation makes an impact that could save at least three lives. “I know we fill up about 80 spots per blood drive,” Sarah Fuller said. Fuller is one of the advisers for the NHS. “We have won multiple local and national awards for the blood drive. I know we do a lot to help people. We get a lot of donations. We still exceed our goal every single time. And it’s really awesome,” Fuller said.
Noll attributes the strength of the blood drives to strong promotion and community support. “We let people know that the blood drive is a really big thing at Englewood. We’re very proud of it. Community is extremely important to the success of the blood drives. The community, school, and district staff, and parents get involved.”
Willow Glauser, a senior at Englewood High School and NHS member, says the mission behind the drive is simple. “The blood drive is always important, because there’s always a need for blood, and right now it’s critical. So we must come together and donate. The ability to donate helps out a lot of people.”
Glauser and the other NHS leaders also take on the important role of supporting nervous donors. “Encouraging people who may be afraid or cautious may seem a problem when needing new donors,” said Glauser, who takes her job to calm nervous donors seriously. “I think a lot of the avoidance around blood donating comes from the side effects and maybe a fear of needles. There are a lot of different people who come through blood donation, and the techs have seen it all. So they know what to look for. They know how to take care of you, and they’ve dealt with everyone under the sun. So if you’re afraid of judgment, there’s not really going to be any, because what everyone’s focused on is you’re helping others, even if you don’t, even if you’re scared to, you’re still trying.”
Arranging the event twice a year is a detailed and time-consuming process, but Glauser says the team improves with each drive, learning how to organize volunteers, communicate with donors, and manage logistics more efficiently each time.
Englewood students say advisers Sarah Fuller and Rosemary Wolf provide strong structure and organization for the program. “We have a whole committee that works on just getting donations for this, and we work with local businesses, and they always contribute. Then we have assigned shifts, so we know when to help and what we’re doing,” Fuller said.
Fuller knows that donating blood is especially important this year.
“As a state, we are low on blood supply, and high schoolers provide about 20 percent of the donation efforts for blood drives. So this is a huge effort. We’re one of the largest high school blood drives in the state, and we’ve won state and national awards for our blood drive.”
The event has been taking place since 2009, and first-time donors continue to be a key part of its success. “We get more first-time donors than most other high schools, which is wonderful. I’d always tell kids, the needle in the arm is only a few minutes. Most of it’s just the wait time, so if you are willing to sit in a chair for a little bit, it’s not going to be so bad,” Fuller said.
“We are collecting blood donations from students and staff, and each blood donation could save three lives. So we’re saving over 100 lives today,” Wolf said.
First-time donors are important, but returning donors who give every six months also help sustain the program year after year. “So imagine if you are in the emergency room, very scared and not knowing if you’re going to live or die, and then you get a blood transfusion from somebody, and it saves your life. Think about that, and then think about what you could be doing for somebody else by donating,” Wolf said.
Advice for future donors?
“Encourage your friends to do a blood drive. You get community service hours and get free food as well. Don’t be afraid to get your blood drawn, or be afraid of needles. Be courageous and get past your fears,” Davis said.
The Englewood NHS blood drive will continue to take place twice each year, giving students ongoing opportunities to serve their community and make a life-saving impact one donation at a time.
