Helping Give the Gift of Life

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Created on Monday, 24 September 2012 18:32
Written by Alyssa Sylvia

newslinc templateLYNDON - The American Red Cross' workforce consists of 96% volunteers to carry out their humanitarian work for communities around the world. Whether they're a disaster preparedness presenter, general advocate for the American Red Cross, but the volunteers that often go unrecognized are the volunteers that work at local blood drives. 

The day of a blood drive coordinator starts as soon as the American Red Cross staff gets on location. Lorraine Matteis, coordinator of the blood drives in the Lyndon area, explains the amount of preparation and time it takes to get everything prepared for the upcoming blood drives. "The day of, I get here early, the trucks arrive between 9:30 and 10 and I like to be here when the trucks arrive to see if they need anything." Matteis starts preparing for a blood drive 6 weeks before the set date, calling her volunteers to see if they are available to come help out. "I get my volunteers that work at the refreshment table, or sign you in when you come in for registration, or some that help out in the actual blood draw area".

 The Lyndon area usually holds 5 blood drives annually, 3 at Lyndon State College and 2 at the Town Municipal building. Matteis counts on the volunteers that come and help at all of the blood drives to make sure all of the donors have what they need to make the donation process run as smooth as possible, and as Matteis explains, their hard work does not go unrecognized. " I really appreciate the giving of their time, and their smiles and the warmness that they share with everyone they interact with at the blood drives.".

Having these volunteers come in means that the Red Cross doesnt have to hire as many staff members, saving the non-profit organization money. American Red Cross representitve David Carmichael explains where these volunteers actually come from, "A lot of our volunteers are town volunteers who've done this year after year, and we learn a lot from them as well. Even though blood drives take up a lot of time and energy, more hands make light work.

Even if you don't have time to volunteer at a local blood drive, Matteis encourages people to at least consider donating blood. "It takes a half hour, maybe 40 minutes of your life to know that you helped save one".

If you are interested in volunteering at a local blood drive, visit the American Red Cross website.