Messalonskee students must obtain 40 hours of community service in their four years
Graduating from Messalonskee High School is not all about succeeding in the classroom. Good work outside the classroom is important, too. The idea is to produce good citizens as well as good students.
In order to earn a degree, Messalonskee seniors have to prove they have provided 40 hours of community service in their four years.
That is one reason the high school is sponsoring a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. next Friday in the gymnasium. Blood is in short supply in Maine and across the country. Students can help address that shortage by volunteering to organize the blood drive, an act of citizenship that can actually save lives.
Messalonskee has hosted nine blood drives over the years, collecting 358 units of blood (a unit is 200 milliliters), an average of about 40 units per blood drive, according to Messalonskee Student Council advisor Alicia Wolfe. Wolfe expects to far exceed that average this year.
“Right now we have 45 appointments filled,” she said, “and the Red Cross gave us a goal of 24.”
Wolfe said her student council members, who are helping to organize the event, will earn community service hours for their work at the blood drive.
Rylee Pelletier, a sophomore, is one of those student council volunteers. Pelletier said her role is to guide donors when they get to the gymnasium. She also will help to monitor them after they donate, being alert to any signs of fatigue or lightheadedness.
Pelletier has never donated blood and confessed to not being a fan of needles. Nevertheless, she has no second thoughts about volunteering for the drive.
“I think I’ll be fine,” she said.
Wolfe said most donors can plan on about an hour for the entire process, including the post-donation monitoring time (The Red Cross provides a free snack and juice for recovery purposes).
Like Pelletier, Wolfe is not a fan of blood and needles, especially when the needles are not immediately pulled out. She is, however, a big supporter of community service.
“I’m glad I’m doing it,” she said. “It is a good service, but it’s pushing the boundaries of my own comfort zone.”