St. John's Prep Sophomore Organizes Danvers Blood Drive

DANVERS, MA — As the coronavirus health crisis extended through the summer into a second wave this fall, St. John's Prep sophomore Nick Rizos wanted to find a way to help his community battle through it.

Having volunteered as a donor ambassador for the American Blood Cross during previous blood drives, he leaned on his experience to help set up a pair of drives at a time when they are less plentiful because of restricted campuses and social distancing.

Rizos worked with Red Cross representatives on what will be two blood drives this spring. The first is Tuesday at the Danversport Yacht Club and the second is planned for toward the end of the school year at St. John's Prep.

The Danvers resident said his role consists of advertising the drive and helping to make sure everything is set up with supplies and donors are helped in a timely manner to keep the drives on schedule.

"This was a personal thing," he told Patch. "It's really about just spreading the word about the need for blood and helping in a time that's needed."

Rizos said spots remain for the Tuesday clinic that will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those who donate blood can also have it tested for COVID-19 antibodies.

While regular donors have helped keep the state's supply solid through much of the pandemic, Rizos said spots were left open for local residents who might not contribute as much to do so as well.

"It's my first drive so I was excited with that," he said. "Most of my job was promoting, getting friends and family to sign up if they want to donate and my school."

He said he hopes the majority of those who donate at the second drive — the date of which has yet to be set — will be from the St. John's school community.

"Hopefully a lot of new kids will learn what's going and why it's needed there," he said. "It's about raising awareness around my school as well."

Those willing to donate on Tuesday can register here and search the drives by zip code.

For the safety of our donor community and in accordance with CDC guidelines, all donors are required to wear a face-covering or mask. Donors are asked to bring a face covering or mask to their donation. If you do not have one, a mask will be provided to you.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)