Delco high school students braved needles and squeamishness to give back to their community

Michele and Jess Sun may be identical twins, but the high school juniors insist they aren’t so alike. When they were 7, Michele disassembled the training wheels on her bike, then reassembled them after realizing she still needed to work on her balance; now, she’s eyeing a career in medicine. Jess is the artistic one, trying out new instruments like the flute and kalimba when she’s not painting or drawing.

But the Delco twins did unite over one thing — the ambition to help their community.

They are two of the student leaders of Penncrest High School’s blood drive. Thursday morning’s event, which was sponsored by the National Honor Society and done in collaboration with the Red Cross, will send donated blood to hospitals in the Philadelphia area. And while the Suns and other students involved worked with a couple of faculty advisers, they took the lead on planning and executing the event.

“It’s an opportunity for us to give to our community,” Michele said. “Knowing that there’s such a [need for blood], us doing this at our school will help so many people who need [it] right now.”

“There is a persistent need for blood donations in Pennsylvania and across the United States. With the high demand for life-saving blood, there is a constant strain on the blood supply,” said a spokesperson from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Donated blood is used by hospitals for numerous treatments and procedures, including surgeries, traumatic injuries, cancer treatments, and chronic illnesses. There was a nationwide shortage in blood during the peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Red Cross even declaring its first-ever blood “crisis” in the middle of last year’s omicron surge.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant decrease in the number of people making blood donations. It is our hope that people who consistently donated blood prior to the pandemic will return to making donations,” the Department of Healthspokesperson said.

The Sun sisters said that all of the blood drive’s 125 available appointments were booked by Penncrest students and faculty.

Felix Gusics, a sophomore at Penncrest, said he was nervous before his appointment and ended up feeling a little woozy after he finished donating. But, he’s still glad he helped out. “I decided to [go through with it] because my blood can make a difference,” he said.

Penncrest’s principal, Ed Roth, was proud to see his students leading and participating in this kind of community initiative. “I think it’s what people say kids don’t do anymore. Kids are just very eager to give back. They want to contribute,” he said.

» READ MORE: Where to donate blood in Philly? Here is a list of blood drives in your neighborhood

“They don’t just talk about what needs to be done, but they roll up their sleeves. They do the hard work and the dirty work to make it happen.”

After the Sun sisters worked to bring attention to the blood drive and encourage as many of their friends to sign up as possible, they admitted they weren’t exactly looking forward to donating themselves.

“I’m definitely scared of needles,” Jess confessed before the event.

But it’s a good thing her sister had her back. “She’s just a scaredy cat,” Michele said.