One of the goals of these student-athletes was to learn how to carry out a strategic plan in order to host a successful blood drive.

"I sat through a lot of conferences when I was in Washington, D.C. over the summer," Ainsworth said. "I have a notebook full of notes that I looked through getting ready for the event. I learned a lot of how to reach out to people and let them know why they should give blood."

Those notes must have worked, because 89 pints of blood was collected during the drive which was significantly more than the goal of 60 that was set. That was also more than had ever been collected at AUM as the average is around 25.

"I was not really nervous about making the goal because we had almost 80 people to sign up for a time to come by," Ainsworth said. "I was nervous about people waiting in line for a long time and not enjoying the experience, especially if it was their first time to donate blood."

Ainsworth had plenty of help throughout the day, including her coach Dan Davis. "I think it was great to see what we can do as people when we put our mind and heart into something to make a difference and that is exactly what Carlie did," Davis said. "I felt this was a great experience for our women's basketball team and the AUM community."

"One thing I learned about this is you have t have a great support team," added Ainsworth. "I had a great support group with all of the people coming by to help at different stations during the course of the drive."

Even though Ainsworth will not be overseeing anymore blood drives this year this was not her final blood drive. Ainsworth is planning to assist in four other blood drives that will be held on AUM's campus.