TITLE OF BEST PRACTICE:
Red Bank High School Best
Practice – “Saving Lives”
DESCRIPTION
“A school of teenagers who come together and are able to save lives, not once but twice a
year…” This can sound a little alarming at first, and some people may ask, “How in the world
can a whole school come together and save lives?” Well, it is easy, and starts with our JROTC
Lion Battalion’s best practice, our biannual blood drive in conjunction with our service learning
program. This is found in our Let Level books and the lessons play an important role in our
battalion, as service learning includes orientation and training, meaningful service, and structured
reflection, which leads us to our bi-annual blood drive together with Blood Assurance
Corporation. Our blood drive is a great example of how we can incorporate ourselves within our
community.
This blood drive is kick started by a representative coming to our school and briefing our
Colonel of Cadets, Battalion Commander, Battalion XO, Staff, and Company Commanders on
guidelines and expectations of how it should run. From there, our commanders and staff use the
9 steps of sequence of command and staff actions; thus putting the principles we study into
action. From there we have people volunteer to sign students up and be in charge of getting them
there the day of the drive. After that the Company Commanders tell their cadets about signing up
and word of mouth gets it around school. Also, we incorporate our school’s media program,
because they tell the student body details on how to sign up and the dates it will be held. Then,
the day of, the Blood Assurance representatives come to our school, and are directed to the
JROTC rifle range and set up. From there, cadets lead the blood drive by getting people where
they should be, and keeping track of the, usually, huge turnout. After it is over things are packed
up, and we are left to write after-action reports, and focus on the bad instances and come up with
ideas on how to fix them in time for the next blood drive.
WHY THIS IS A BEST PRACTICE
SITUATION BEFORE
We consider this a best practice to us because we are working together to save the
lives of people in our surrounding area. For the need to have blood is a big one that must be
filled living in Chattanooga. Our school is also affected, because before our blood drive students
have some idea of doing good things to help other people, but it is not the same as when we are
finished and can see the after math of the combined effort of both blood drives.
SITUATION AFTER
The blood we collect goes to refill the diminished supply of blood that blood assurance
has given to the local hospitals in order to save peoples lives. The effect it has on the school as a
whole is also phenomenal. All of the JROTC cadets who host the blood drive gain valuable skills
on how to form, and operate an event with outside partners. Also the kids in the school are
affected greatly by this, because we always have kids talking about giving blood and they are
excited when it comes time to give. Then we can also see its affects them because we have more
students on the second blood drive than we do on the first. So thinking about all of these amazing
and very different points that come from our blood drive it is easy to see why we consider it our
best practice.
BENEFITS
The blood drive we hold has several benefits coming from it. One of the main benefits is that all
of the blood we collect is donated to local hospitals and facilities. Every single person that
donates could possibly save a life. We have two blood drives held each year. This past year, over
80 students donated blood each time we held the blood drive. Many students are eager to donate
blood each time, eager to save lives. With the blood we collect, we save over a 150 lives every
single year. Along with the numerous amounts of lives we save, we have students coming
together and working together as a team. Students help organize and donate blood every year.
Students practically race to sign up for the event every time it’s held. So not only are we saving
lives with this process, we are also helping our community come together as a unit.
KEY LESSONS LEARNED
There are many different lessons to be learned from doing this blood drive. The first and
most important lesson one learns is how to be selfless. This is a lesson because as you are giving
blood you know that it will go to someone less fortunate than yourself, and it gives you pride in
knowing the good you are doing just because you wanted to, and no one told you that you had to.
Another lesson kids learn from this is how to help their community at large. As I said before the
blood is given to local hospitals so that means that anyone in the area we live with who is in an
accident and needs blood may be the one who is given the blood that you donated. This in turn
might spark something within and a student could start to want to go out and help their
community in a variety of different ways. The final lesson we learn is that it is better to give than
receive. While we may get a T-shirt saying we gave blood it is ultimately not a T-shirt that keeps
kids coming back to give blood. Instead one comes back to give blood because it lifts you up in
spirit to know that if only for this one time in your life you are doing something for the better
without thinking of getting something in return. It can give you a whole other view on yourself
as a person in your life.
Pictures of our Blood Drive