Hailey Hairrell of Los Alamitos helped save lives by hosting an American Red Cross blood drive and earned a $1,000 scholarship as a result of her lifesaving efforts.
As part of the Red Cross Leaders Save Lives program, the Concordia University student hosted a blood drive at the City of Seal Beach on Dec. 20, 2022, which collected 25 blood donations. As a result, Hairrell was eligible to be entered into a drawing for a scholarship and was chosen as a winner. Hairrell was also awarded a gift card.
Hairrell graduated in 2022 from California State University, Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology Exercise Science. Currently, she is in an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program at Concordia, where she heard about the Leaders Save Lives program.
Hairrell reflects on what it was like to host the drive. “Hosting this blood drive was an amazing experience for me as I learned true leadership skills as well as spending the entire day with people in my community,” said Hairrell. “It’s an amazing feeling watching people you love be so excited to be doing something good for others.”
Leaders Save Lives encourages community-minded high school and college students to host blood drives to help maintain the blood supply for patients in need of lifesaving transfusions. The program made a huge impact on Hairrell and hopes to inspire others to host a blood drive of their own.
“The Leaders Save Lives program is so much more than a scholarship opportunity. I was able to reach out to so many people within my community and work with the amazing staff of the Red Cross,” said Hairrell. “The drive day is filled with so many positive emotions and individuals being so grateful to be donating to a good cause. I will definitely be hosting another drive in the future!”
Students can sign up to host Leaders Save Lives blood drives during seasonal timeframes throughout the year. For more information, visit RedCrossBlood.org/LeadersSaveLives
