Archive for the ‘Volunteers’ Category

Chairperson Lyneshia Garrette signs students in to give blood at Houston CAN Academy's Hobby Campus.

At Houston CAN Academy’s Hobby Campus, a small charter high school populated by about 300 students, the gym is bustling with activity on blood drive day.

Students on one side of the room wait to be screened, some snacking on cereal bars to help prevent post-donation reactions. On the other side of the room, a science class is gathered, listening intently as their instructor talks about the school’s blood drive program and the benefits of donating blood. In the middle are the screening booths and donor beds, most occupied by students, and at the entrance is a table manned by Lyneshia Garrette, the school’s blood drive chairperson.

Although coordinating the blood drives for the campus was not part of her job description when she came to work at Houston CAN Academy as an administrative assistant, Garrette has fully embraced her responsibilities since inheriting the program last year.

The week before the drive, Garrette explains, she sends out a campus-wide email informing everyone of the blood drive and asking interested students to sign up in the main office. But that doesn’t always net as many appointments as she would like. In order to get more students signed up to give blood, she takes a more personal approach in the days preceding the drive.

“I’ve found that at a campus like this, the students respond better when you reach out to them. They are not as likely to reach out to you on their own,” Garrette says.

With the teachers’ permission, she goes classroom to classroom, using the visits as an opportunity not only to fill the sign-up sheet, but also to answer questions about donor eligibility. Deferrals are high at the campus, she says, but she tries to prevent them by educating the students on donation requirements and encouraging them to eat before their scheduled donation times.

For the day of the drive, Garrette recruits two student volunteers who are in good academic standing to help with escorting donors to and from their classes to the gym, where the blood drive is held. While the chance to get out of class for a while seems to motivate high school donors, some teachers offer additional incentives in the form of extra credit for those who support the blood drive.

“The students like the T-shirts and the incentives, but I also make sure they know that giving blood saves three lives, and for a lot of them, that’s the main reason why they do it,” Garrette said.

Garrette says students who donate at least twice in their senior year are eligible to receive the Power Cord from The Blood Center – a red cord to be worn by students at graduation with their cap and gown. With Houston CAN Academy’s next graduation scheduled for June, students are getting excited about receiving their cords in the coming weeks.

The campus hosts five drives per year. Because of the timing of the drives, students are not eligible to give blood at every drive, but the number of drives ensures that more students have the opportunity to donate regularly. The May 11 drive yielded 33 products, bringing this academic year’s total number of products collected to 146.

Thanks to Garrette, the supportive teachers and administrators at Houston CAN Academy, and the student donors, more than 400 lives have been saved this school year!

Do you have a blood drive program at your school, workplace or church? If so, tell us what makes your program successful in the comments section.

Today’s blog entry comes from Volunteer Coordinator Sonya Diaz.

The Blood Center is joining the country in celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 10 through 16. To kick off the week of festivities, this past Saturday The Blood Center hosted Cheers for Volunteers, a pep-rally-themed celebration to honor the more than 300 volunteers who Commit for Life with their tireless hours of service.

The event, which was held at The Blood Center’s Mobile Operations Complex, was bustling with dozens of volunteers this weekend. To open the event, Lanier Middle School gladly sent out some of their most talented eighth-grade girls to cheer on our volunteers. With special blood donation cheer routines, the girls had each volunteer in the crowd motivated to continue their volunteer commitment in 2011.  

Lanier Middle School cheerleaders completed the pep rally theme with special cheers about blood donation and volunteerism.

The Blood Center’s volunteers are vital to raising awareness about the need for blood in the greater Houston area. Those volunteers who went above and beyond last year by reaching the silver and gold-level Commit for Life status, were specially honored with a Cheers for Volunteer lapel pin. Plus, three dedicated volunteers were recognized with special category awards for their outstanding commitment.  

• Longtime donor and volunteer Marsha Asplin was recognized as Volunteer of the Year for her more than 700 hours of service in 2010.
• Patty Coppola, a member of The Woodlands Community Advocates, was named Community Advocate of the Year for her commitment to grassroots outreach in The Woodlands community.
• New volunteer Jose Gomez was recognized as Spirit Leader of the Year for his willingness to always step up to the challenge and never shy away from approaching and educating a potential new donor. 

The event, which also featured tours of The Blood Center’s newest donor coach and LEED-certified Mobile Operations Complex, captured the enthusiasm and team spirit our volunteers demonstrate every day. In 2010, our volunteers contributed more than 9,000 hours, and we are confident 2011 will only be bigger and better for the Volunteer Program.

New volunteer orientations are held at least once a month. Volunteers are always needed to perform a variety of duties – from greeting donors at blood drives to serving as Community Advocates. If you are interested in joining our team of Commit for Life volunteers, send an email to volunteering@giveblood.org.

View more photos from the Cheers for Volunteers event on Flickr.

Today’s blog entry comes from Mary Hall Richards, our Media and Events Manager. As the mother of a very busy teen, she gets the opportunity to see youth in action every day. Here she shares her perspective on teens making a difference.

Brentwood Baptist Church youth group on retreat - T.R.U.T.H. Ministry and future donors.

A theme that seems to be consistent from every generation is how the generation behind you values very little.  I have even heard one person say that teenagers today know the price of everything, but the value of nothing!  I, on the other hand, have a very different opinion. 

In addition to the very valuable work that we as an organization do, I get the opportunity to work with several youth organizations. 

As a volunteer with Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, the Hightower High School Band and the youth at my church, I get to see the other side.  They know what they want and are determined to achieve it.

They all know that I work for Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, and even some of the most squeamish teens, who are not even 16 years old, have made a vow to donate blood once they are eligible.  Those that have already reached 17 years of age and some level of independence are honored that they have had the opportunity to help save a life.

With their commitments to achievement in earning their bronze, silver and gold awards as a Girl Scout or earning the highest honors at UIL competition, one by one have proven that they understand what it means to Commit for Life.  I have had several tell me that they signed up at the table when their school is hosting a drive.  One went so far as to call me to tell me that they had just finished donating blood and how it was easier than they thought! 

Their commitments are an encouragement to me.  As they well know, I am committed to them, as long as they show commitment.

They are the smiling faces who hand you a T-shirt and direct you to the cookies and juice after a blood drive. They are the unseen hands that prepared the packet you picked up at a health fair. They are the leaders at your schools and churches who motivate you to sign up to donate blood.

They are volunteers for Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and we couldn’t accomplish our life-saving mission without them!

To celebrate National Volunteer Week April 18 – 24, we are recognizing our volunteers for their generous contributions of time and talent and making sure you know how you can join the ranks of our fun, friendly, Commit for Life volunteers!

Created by President Richard Nixon in 1974, National Volunteer Week is a call to action for Americans to volunteer and inspire by example. Americans have continued to answer that call, even in times of recent economic trouble. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 63.4 million people volunteered through an organization in 2009, compared to 61.8 million people in 2008.

Here at The Blood Center, more than 200 volunteers dedicated more than 7,000 hours to helping save lives in 2009. WOW! We need just as many committed individuals to volunteer in 2010 to help us reach our collection goal of 333,000 units this year.

The Blood Center offers a variety of rewarding and engaging volunteer opportunities that allow you to use your distinct skills to help save lives. Are you outgoing and enjoy meeting new people? Volunteering for a blood drive thank you crew might be a good fit for you. Are you a goal-oriented team player ready to make a commitment? You could be well suited to be a Community Advocate. Are you an organized leader skilled at delegating?  Blood Drive Chairperson may be your best match. These are just a few examples of ways that people like you dedicate their time and talents to saving lives every day.

You’ve probably already heard of our Commit for Life program, a partnership between you and Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center that is focused on saving lives today, and in the future. To Commit for Life as a volunteer, just follow these three easy steps: 1) Volunteer 10 hours per quarter, 2) allow The Blood Center to contact you, and 3) spread the word.

Volunteering can even be a family activity. Volunteers must be at least 12 years of age and those ages 12 to 14 must be accompanied by a trained parent or guardian at all activities. Those ages 15 to 18 can volunteer with parental consent.

The steps to volunteering are easy, the opportunities are fun and the reward is tremendous: the gratifying knowledge that your actions have helped save lives! If you would like to share some of your time and talents to benefit your community, we would love to have you join our team as a Commit for Life volunteer.  For more information about volunteering, please e-mail us at volunteering@giveblood.org or call (713) 791-6262.

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center Community Advocates gathered on March 27 for their Spring Community Advocate Training. Advocates from various Neighborhood Donor Centers were grouped together and given the task of working together to build the tallest tower from materials at their tables. The training focused on team building and donor center blood drive success practices.