By Sabine Foerg
CVU senior
Looking for a new way to give back to your community? A local Red Cross blood drive could be your next good deed. Many CVU students, faculty and community members did their part at CVU’s annual March blood drive.
CVU held its annual Red Cross blood drive in the gym all day Thursday, March 12. Any student or faculty member 17 or older, weighing a minimum of 110 pounds and in good health, was likely eligible to donate.
According to the Red Cross, a blood drive draws in people for many different reasons, ranging from giving for family members and friends in need, to simply the free snacks and drinks provided after the procedure.
“I am giving blood because it isn’t too painful for me, and I think it is the right thing to do. There are a lot of people who can’t donate, and I can, so I feel like it is the right thing to do because I have that ability,” said CVU senior Maggie Sides.
Each donor must fill out a questionnaire and sign in with an ID before going through a brief “mini-physical” and a health survey. The actual donation takes 8 to ten minutes. Each donor provides one pint of blood. According to the Red Cross, every pint of blood could save as many as three lives.
The CVU blood drive is run by the Student Council along with the Red Cross.
“We have been publicizing the event with posters and banners, and student council members have been sitting at an information and sign up table during lunch one week before the blood drive and the week of,” said CVU sophomore student council member Finnegan Mittelstadt.
For individuals unable to give blood, there are other ways to make a difference. “
People can always come help out at the event and come and support people giving donations,” Mittelstadt said. The Red Cross also accepts donations for a variety of causes online.
“Approximately 38 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood at any given time,” the Red Cross says. Chances are, if you are over 16 and in good health, you are eligible to donate blood.
“We worked with the Red Cross to organize this event. It was completely safe, and just as many Red Cross certified people will be assisting at our blood drive as there would be at any other Red Cross event,” said CVU co-president Mia Brumsted.
The event was open to the public, so any community member could come and donate.
“Our goal was to have 100 people come out and donate,” Mittelstadt said. “We had over 80 people signed up, but a lot of people were not eligible in the end.”
Although the CVU goal was not met, the community still made a substantial contribution both in donations and by raising awareness.
Precautions due to COVID-19 were taken. Everyone entering the donation area had their temperature checked by a Red Cross official. Anyone with a temperature over 99.6 was not allowed to enter, and all volunteers wore gloves. Volunteers were advised to stand at least 6 feet apart from others, and replace their gloves after any contact. “We did have to check in with leadership at CVU about COVID-19 and health concerns to ensure that this is safe, and the event was cleared,” Brumsted said
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