…annual spring blood drive in Alumni Hall

Spring is just around the corner, which means that the Communication Studies Club will be putting on its biannual blood drive. In recent years, the number of donors participating in the event has grown exponentially.

In a few weeks, students and staff alike will volunteer their time and effort to the extensive planning which these events require. In addition to booking Alumni Hall and tabling for sign-ups, members of the club must coordinate volunteer schedules and find local restaurants to donate food to feed Red Cross employees for both days of the event. These volunteers are crucial to the event.

Gustavus has long played a vital role in collecting blood donations for the Red Cross. The Communication Studies Club has been running the event for many years, and before that, a Greek organization on campus planned the event.

Professor of Communication Studies Sarah Wolter can attest to the growing success of the event, as she herself planned the blood drives during her term as Communication Studies Club president in 2001.

Donations back then were “miniscule numbers compared to what they get today,” Wolter said. The professor actually met her husband through her experience with the blood drive, Blake Kane ’02, who was the coordinator of the event at the time.

As many of us have probably recently seen in commercials and other advertisements, the Red Cross is in desperate need of blood donations, especially considering recent natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast.

“Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood, so obviously the need for blood is huge, which is why it’s so important that we put on blood drives every year. Over 200,000 Red Cross blood drives are held every year, and nearly 20 percent of all of the blood donations they receive come from high school and college campuses,” Junior Communication Studies Club President Ashley Michalko said.

“Every time a person donates their blood, that donation has the potential to save three lives, and donating blood isn’t just for the benefit of others as it can also benefit the donor – it is essentially a mini physical free of charge,” Senior Nursing Major Kassie Lueth said.

All members of the Gustavus community are encouraged to donate blood. If you are unable to donate, volunteers are still needed for various tasks at the event, such as serving snacks, checking in donors, and clean-up Alumni Hall at the end of the drive. Volunteering is not only limited to members of the Communication Studies Club, as the growing number of donors has called for far more volunteers to accommodate them.

“This last fall, we got 235 units of blood, which is awesome. Our goal for this spring’s drive is 243 units, which I hope to hit,” Michalko said.

This spring’s blood drive will be held Mar. 6 and 7 from noon to 6 p.m. both days. Those interested in donating and/or volunteering at the event itself can sign-up outside of the Evelyn Young Dining Room Feb. 28 to Mar. 5.