By Jon Gray
Across America citizens touched in any way by the tragic events of September 11 are looking for ways to help out those in need. This was the case last Tuesday and Wednesday when the Red Cross of America held a blood drive in the multi-purpose room of the Student Activities Center from 10am -3pm.
The blood drive is one of many planned over the next year, and is not a new event to the Belknap Campus, but Dorothy Harden, the regional director of the Red Cross, sees this as a good time to draw more donors. She said, “We would like to see 60 [blood donors] out here, but any number is still good.”Also noted by Harden is that “each donation can help more then one person because the blood can be separated into the different components, like platelets, and help a lot of people with different needs.”
At the blood drive there were some people who had given blood before, such as Kyle Baurle, a Junior Business Management major, who said “I’ve given blood 3 or 4 times at blood drives here at U of L and a couple of times at the Red Cross office.” He went on to say “Actually, I had planned to donate the week before the attacks, it was just kind of weird that it happened when it did.” Also there were newcomers to blood donation, such as Katy Kirchner, a Sophomore Chemical Engineering major, who learned about the blood drive through her sorority, Kappa Delta. She noted that “It’s good to give blood anytime, but with all the tragedies, more people seem to want to come out.”
At the event was a crew of about 10 regular Red Cross staff members and a handful of volunteer workers who kept the event running smoothly. One volunteer, Vincent Lucchese, said that “I volunteer about two to three times a week and it makes me feel better to know I’m helping someone out.” Lucchese worked at the canteen which offered to all donors were free drinks and snacks to fight any possible nausea or dizziness related to blood donation.
For anyone who missed the event and would like to donate blood at anytime throughout the year there are two offices here in the Louisville area. One is at 501 Chestnut Street and it is open Monday through Thursday 10am to 6pm, Friday 7am to 3pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. On the east end, there is an office at 291 Hubbard’s Lane and that is open Monday through Thursday Noon to 7pm, Friday 10am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Also available at the offices are volunteer opportunities for anyone who needs volunteer hours for a service based organization.
