LENOX, Mass. -- Hillcrest Educational Center in Lenox is a place that teaches developmentally disabled kids. But on Wednesday, the pulse of the campus changed from a classroom to a blood drive.

"We've been very successful. We usually average at least 70 pints of blood every year and it's just a small token of our appreciation back to the community," said Hillcrest Educational Center executive director Jerry Burke.

For the ninth year in a row, Hillcrest held its annual blood drive to support the Red Cross. Officials here say it's a way to give back to a supportive county.

"Giving to the community. That's really what community is about. We help one another out. We take care of one another and we make sure that everybody's okay," said Hillcrest Educational Center special projects director Ben Goldberg.

Reaching out to the community is a big part of Hillcrest’s educational goals. It's a way for them to give back, but also to teach the developmentally disabled kids here that helping others is a great way to help themselves.

"Our kids, of course, come from troubled backgrounds and many of them have led very traumatized kinds of lives and it's important for them to see and participate in exchanges of empathy and to work with people and help people and not be victims," said Goldberg.

"Our kids are here to learn about life and our staff members are role models. By them participating in this event, it clearly gives the kids a message [that] it's a two-way street and our staff are excellent at that," said Burke.

It's a drive to give back to the community, which is a lesson you often learn in and outside the classroom.