Little Mill Middle School Will Honor Student Who Passed Away With Blood Drive

Staff Report

Dec. 18 would have been Kayla Pirkle’s 14th birthday, so on that day family and friends from the community will honor her memory with a blood drive at Little Mill Middle School, 6800 Little Mill Rd., Cumming.

Pirkle, who was a seventh grader at Little Mill, was killed in a car crash March 22 as she was returning from softball practice.

“She’d joined the Junior Beta Club on Thursday and died on Saturday,” said her mother, Betsy Pirkle of Gainesville.

The blood drive will be hosted by LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, and will be held at the school from 3 to 8 p.m. on the afternoon of the boys and girls basketball games with Lakeside Middle School. Parents and family members from both schools are encouraged to participate. Betsy Pirkle said honoring Kayla by helping others is fitting.

“She would love it. That was Kayla. She would do anything to help somebody,” Pirkle said.

Donors must be at least 17, or 16 with parental consent, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in good health. A photo ID is also required. All donors will receive a special pair of LifeSouth socks, a complimentary cholesterol screening and they’ll be entered into a drawing for a gift basket from Chick-fil-A in Dawsonville. For additional information call LifeSouth’s Mary Owens at 706-429-7144.