CIRCLEVILLE, OH — Junior Allie Thompson is taking knowledge from the classroom and using it to make a difference in the community before she even walks across the graduation stage. After an incredible experience this summer, Thompson is putting on a blood drive through the American Red Cross on Wednesday, September 7 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the auxiliary gym in the Maxwell Center.

Thompson is a member of the varsity volleyball team and is majoring in Emergency and Disaster Management. This summer, Thompson was one of 13 students selected nationwide to take part in a Red Cross Leadership Conference at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington, D.C. At the conference, she had the opportunity to get in-depth training in leadership, the Red Cross and the importance of blood drives.

"Someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds," Thompson said. "One donation of blood can save up to three lives. The biggest need right now is donations from our black community. We need them because of sickle cell disease. Sickle cell patients will have blood transfusions and they need non-sickle cell blood."

Sickle cell disease is most common in African Americans, with one in 13 African American babies being born with sickle cell trait.

Thompson knew she wanted to go into a field that would allow her to serve her community when a massive flood hit Clendenin, West Virginia, just 25 miles away from Thompson's hometown of Charleston.

"Some spots hit 34 feet high of water," Thompson said. "That is when my family and I volunteered through the Red Cross to serve at a distribution center. When we started, I sobbed knowing that a small town close to where I live had nothing. That was the most devastating event I have witnessed."

Thompson and her family were able to help homeowners, businesses and other members of the community recover from the wreckage.

Thompson is excited to take her knowledge and passion for the community into the blood drive on Wednesday. The drive is beach themed, so come to your appointment wearing your best beach gear. Donors will be eligible to receive a free limited-edition t-shirt and be entered into a raffle that includes:

• Tickets to a 2023 Sport Clips – sponsored race of the winner's choice
• Round-trip airfare for two
• Up to a 3-night hotel stay
• Entry to a Sport Clips racetrack hospitality tent (if available)
• $750 gift card

To register for the drive, follow this link https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=OHChristianU.