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Blood Drive Sign
ESF Surpasses Goal for Year’s First Blood Drive
ESF's first Red Cross Blood Drive of the academic year was held Sept. 4, with 43 students and faculty combining to surpass the day's goal by 25 percent.
Peter Iacono, a junior wildlife science major, said, "It feels good to give back this way. The Red Cross slogan for blood drives is, 'Save up to three lives,' and even though it's sort of corny, it really could make a life-changing difference to a person in need."
Iacono was among ESF's double red blood cell donors, people who donate twice the amount of red blood cells before the blood is returned to the donor. Iacono is among the students who donate every time a blood drive is held at ESF.
The Red Cross had set a goal of 40 "products" — the term used to describe a donation from one person, with a double red cell donor counting twice — and ESF donors achieved a total of 50 by the end of the day.
The drive was held in Alumni Lounge, known informally as Nifkin Lounge, in the basement of Marshall Hall, where five patient tables and two double red tables were stationed. The Red Cross team of eight trained nurses went from table to table tending to donors.
Roberta Ayling, the Red Cross supervisor of operations, said she had seen many new donors, whom she assumed to be new students to ESF. The Red Cross used a new online service for donors so they could schedule a time without visiting a table and requiring the help of a volunteer.
Liz Mix, ESF's community service and service-learning coordinator, said ESF students are typically willing to participate in a blood drive.
"It's important that a school as small as ESF can hold its own drive and continually beat the goal," she said. "What we can do collectively, whether giving blood or volunteering to sign donors in, can really make an impact. It's not hard to get ESF students to participate because they are dedicated to bettering their community and they really care about the cause."
There are three more drives scheduled for Nifkin Lounge throughout the year. ESF has a reputation for being heavily involved in community service and the blood drive is just one of the many ways students give back to their community.
— By Brianna Reed ES '13