By Victoria Lawson | Echo
On Tuesday, students and faculty came to the KSAC to participate in Taylor University's first blood drive, orchestrated by the Indiana Blood Center and a blood drive cabinet formed by Taylor students. There are high hopes for the continuation of this partnership annually.
Christina Crane, regional manager for the Indiana Blood Center and one of the primary coordinators for the event, said hosting the blood drive during Random Acts of Kindness week could not be more fitting.
"When the timing of the blood drive fell within Random Acts of Kindness Week, we really felt like that was perfect," Crane said. "When you donate blood, you don't know who it's going to help, so the very fact that it's a selfless act of kindness to someone you don't ever meet and that you don't have any idea of what their set of circumstances is, in faith, doing something that you know will impact someone in a significant way. So we thought the randomness of not knowing whose life you're touching fit the theme well."
The Indiana Blood Center needs to collect 550 donations of blood every day in order to sustain a two to three day public blood supply. Crane emphasized this aggressive flu season, in addition to poor weather, has caused a decrease in the number of people healthy enough to donate. She explained it is common for the donations to drop post-holidays, which is why the need for blood is so present and why she reached out to Taylor University.
Crane contacted Taylor to inquire about student organizations potentially interested in hosting a campus blood drive, and only one person answered the call: freshman ICC president Lily Walter. Crane and Walter then spent months recruiting members for a blood drive cabinet, with Walter at the forefront of the preparation.
"Believing in something is enough to make things happen if you are motivated and have people by your side," Walter said. "Good things will come out of it, if your heart is in it."
Crane, Walter and the members of Taylor's new blood drive cabinet are excited for this opportunity to make the annual blood drive bigger and more exciting in the years to come, but, for now, they are delighted with the outcome of Tuesday's event.
Crane recalled the first meeting she attended with the Taylor volunteers and remembers feeling touched at their responses, as each member was passionate about making a difference. Crane saw this as an inspiring reflection of the spirit of Taylor University.
"This blood will save lives," Crane said. "So to me, all of the energy and the commitment that went into that was by the entire cabinet, and I would love to be able to see them recognized for that. They stepped up, you know? They created this. . . . For me, in what I do, to hear that people want to be a part of this for those reasons makes me want this to be a successful annual event and for this partnership to be longstanding. So I'm excited that we got it off the ground, and it's been wonderful. I am very proud of this group of people and what's happened here (Tuesday)."
Crane also wants freshmen Natalie Baker, Alex Choate, Ellen Durling and Mallory Hooks and sophomores Ben Kruger and Keegan Brown to be commended for their hard work as they initiate this piece of Taylor history.
