For senior Jen Mincks, running Jamestown’s Red Cross blood drives is tradition.

“The blood drive’s been in my family since it started at Jamestown,” she said.

The blood drives, sponsored by the Key Club, were started by Jen’s oldest sister, Emily, and government teacher Richard Ambler when the school first opened. When Emily graduated, she passed the drives on to her sister Rebecca, who in turn passed them on to Jen.

Jen helped as an all-day volunteer for the first three blood drives her freshman year before stepping up to run the fourth on her own.

“Mr. Ambler told me I had to find volunteers,” she said.

One of those volunteers was senior Lianna Reagan, who, after coming to two blood drives as an all-day volunteer, became Jen’s co-chair in their sophomore year.

“At first, it was really hard because none of our friends were old enough to give blood.” Lianna said. “No one really listened to us.”

Jen said older students tried to use the blood drive as an excuse to skip class and ask the girls to write them passes.

“You want to be friendly, but you don’t want to get in trouble,” she said.

To combat this problem, Lianna said they asked Mr. Ambler if he could be present at the blood drives all day. Now, administration provides him with a substitute for the day so he can do just that.

“I’m very hands-on.” Mr. Ambler said. “If I attach my name to something, I want it to be good.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Ambler said there are some things of which Jen and Lianna are always in control.

“They usually play my ‘80s music, but ultimately, they’re in charge,” he said. “They tell me to get away from the CD player.”

Another trademark of the blood drives that Mr. Ambler said Jen and Lianna started is the home-baked cookies offered to students post-donation.

“We just figured [the cookies were] good because people need the sugar boost after giving blood,” Jen said.

She and Lianna bake about 140 cookies the night before each blood drive.

“Sometimes we run out, and other times we’re begging the nurses to take the extras,” she said. “[The cookies] are a major incentive for most people.”

Mr. Ambler said he’s impressed by how many students give blood.

“It’s amazing to me that so many teenagers are at the maturity level to do this,” he said. “The obvious goal is for them to be lifelong donors.”

According to the American Red Cross’s blood donation website, www.givelife.org, only about five percent of Americans eligible to give blood actually donate, despite the fact that someone will need a transfusion every two seconds.

Mr. Ambler said the need for blood donors is especially great in this area because of the amount of military who live here. In many cases, military personnel are not allowed to give blood for a year following their return from overseas.

“Until [we] can invent artificial blood, [we]’re going to need blood donors,” Mr. Ambler said. “Without that donation, there is death. They are giving the gift of life. It’s not just a phrase.”

Blood isn’t the only thing the Key Club has given the Red Cross.

Recently, the club voted to give the local Red Cross $1,000. Mr. Ambler explained that every chapter of the Red Cross is responsible for raising its own money. A new fundraising campaign gives the title of “hero” to any donor of $1,000 or more. The first “hero” in Williamsburg was the Jamestown Key Club.

This year, the Key Club will hold five blood drives, the maximum that can be done in one school year. Mr. Ambler said that Jamestown is the only school in Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, and southern Maryland to hold that many blood drives in one year.

“I would challenge Warhill and Lafayette to do five blood drives a year, too,” said Mr. Ambler. “If you can create competition with a sister school, that’s perfect, because the end result is more blood.”

Mr. Ambler said he thinks Jen and Lianna deserve credit for creating an environment where many students look upon giving blood as a coming-of-age ritual.

“That’s a cool culture to have—to hear a teenager say, ‘I can’t wait until I turn 17 so I can give blood,’” Mr. Ambler said. “What Jen and Lianna have done is create a positive culture, and that takes effort.”

Next year, the blood drive will be in new hands.

“It’s going to be weird since it’s not in my family anymore,” Jen said.

Sophomore Beth Guse and freshman Kelley Quinzio have been learning all year how to run a blood drive smoothly, and both say they feel they’re ready to take over.

“[Jen and Lianna] prepared us really well,” Kelley said.

Mr. Ambler said he has become close to Lianna and Jen over the years, and it will be hard to say goodbye.

“You would be hard-pressed to find two people who have done more for their community,” he said. “I know I sound like a proud father. I am. They’re like my daughters.”

Mr. Ambler said although he has promised Jen and Lianna that he will not cry at their graduation, it will be a sad day for him.

“I’m losing two pieces of my soul,” he said. “But we’re going to have fun. We’re going to go out to dinner and just celebrate life.”