JOHNSTON CITY, IL (WSIL) -- A 1999 graduate of the Johnston City High School is remembered. The annual Mike Dean Memorial Blood Drive took place Monday.
Dean later became a teacher at the Sesser-Valier High school. In 2006, he died in a car crash and was helping students that day.
Now, students come together to honor his legacy. A committee of high schoolers at the Johnston City High School plan and host this blood drive, and two others throughout the school year.
Elijah Crespi, one of the student organizers says, it takes a lot of work but the reason behind it makes it all worth it.Â
"Blood drives raise a lot community awareness to issues like blood transfusions and stuff," he explains. "Without blood drives, we wouldn't have enough blood to do common blood transfusions or like if someone say got into an accident. You know, they need blood."Â
Brenda Mummert is a CNA instructor at the high school. She's has been helping with the Mike Dean blood drive for eight years.
Mummert believes it turns tragedy into a life lesson for students who participate.Â
"It's important that we be mindful of the people that we serve in healthcare," she adds. "Even when it's a negative outcome, we lose somebody, some good can still come out of it. That's what we try to strive for, for him [Dean] and his family."
Some students who help out with these blood drives also get scholarship money.Â