Donation drive hopes to top last year’s collection
While USC hopes to extend its winning streak to five straight against Clemson at Williams-Brice Stadium next Saturday, it’s looking to continue a longer winning streak in the rivalry this week.
The 29th annual Carolina-Clemson Blood Drive kicked off Monday and will run through the end of the week. Whichever school collects the most units of blood will win bragging rights in the traditional competition. The series is tied at 14 wins apiece, with USC winning the last five years.
The competitive frame certainly helps drive donations, said Anna Drew Jackson, a fourth-year exercise science student who coordinates the drive for the Greek Programming Board. But beating Clemson isn’t the only thing that makes the blood drive important, she said.
“The drive comes at an important time because it’s right before the holiday time when donations actually decrease because people are traveling or busy or just forget to donate,” Jackson said. “I think the competition definitely fuels it, but at the end of the day, the goal for both schools is just to collect as much [blood] as possible.”
Last year, USC collected blood from 3,655 donors, barely topping Clemson’s 3,534, according to Jackson. There’s no specific goal set for donations this year, she said, only to top last year’s numbers.
The blood drive continues through Friday, with donation stations in the Russell House Ballroom daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and at various mobile locations on campus from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On Thursday, donors and workers will have an opportunity to sign a large sheet with messages of support for Martha Childress, the 18-year-old first-year business student who was paralyzed in a shooting in Five Points last month.