Sidwell hosted its seasonal blood drive on Nov. 4, an event led by the school’s Global Health and Equity and Med Club. Beyond fundraising and creating care packages for nonprofit charities to advance healthcare equity, the clubs aim to educate and spread awareness over this issue.
Any students, staff, and parents over 17 were encouraged to give blood, which would later be donated to Children’s National Hospital, another nonprofit that has a similar mission statement: to bring health and well-being to all children. This blood drive served as an opportunity to bridge gaps in healthcare access, ensuring that children and families receive resources that might otherwise be out of reach.
Global Health and Equity has been focusing specifically on the issue of blood cancer this year, including its LLS (leukemia and lymphoma society) fundraising to give back to patients with blood cancer and the club’s previous partnerships with Children’s National Hospital to deliver care packages. “The blood drive was a great success — over 20 units of blood were donated,” Global Health and Equity head and junior Tasbih Bakshi said.
“The Sidwell community is so vast and diverse, so when Ms. Webb emailed last minute to try and fill slots for the blood drive, a lot of parents and staff decided to step in to make the blood drive a success, showing how supportive we all are of each other,” she added. “We greatly appreciate all the adults and hope students can be inspired to devote the same time and attention to this cause.”
Sophomore Norah Chang said this is one of the most important events this month because “it made a bigger difference — not only for the Sidwell community, but for a greater group of people in general.”
“My favorite part was organizing the event, because I got to meet so many parents, those with a personal link to blood cancer or who are blood donors, or those who just really love doing things for the Sidwell community,” Bakshi added. “It was especially fun to work with Ms. McCoy and Ms. Webb, who have been spearheading the blood drives with Children’s National Hospital.”
Bakshi also shared that due to recent global events, she has become aware of the inequities in healthcare. She realized that many individuals, especially children, do not have access to essential healthcare, and began working closely with Children’s National Hospital. .
Global Health and Equity Club and Med Club will be hosting three additional blood drives: one in January and one in May for the American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance and disaster relief to underprivileged communities and another in March for Children’s National Hospital again.
