CEDARVILLE — The first chilly mornings that came with the official arrival of fall had Cedarville University students pulling on sweatshirts as they walked to class. Many rolled up those long sleeves to help save lives by supporting the Sept. 28-29 fall blood drive.
Students donated in the Stevens Student Center and on the Community Blood Center Bloodmobile. The fall blood drive totaled 127 donors, including 64 first-time donors and 95 donations for 114 percent of the collection goal.
“I like donating blood. My parents always did it,” said Elissa Uithol, a sophomore linguistics major from Hawaii, who made her third lifetime donation Friday. Both her parents serve in the military and are stationed in Hawaii.
“It’s a good thing to do,” she said. “You can help people and it’s an easy thing to do.”
The blood drive came on the final days of the Saving Lives Knocks Our Socks Off campaign and everyone who registered to donate received a free pair of colorful socks decorated with blood type symbols. Despite the change in weather, many students weren’t ready to give up sandals and flip flops. But they stuffed the socks into their backpacks saying they may come in handy as the days get cooler.
The donor beds on the Bloodmobile quickly filled up with students, many of them from the nursing program.
“I heard about the blood drive from one of my nursing professors,” said nursing student Elise Davis, a first-time donor from Massachusetts. “I have friends that have needed blood. One was in a car accident and the other was a cancer patient. They both survived.”
Chris Tenhundfeld is a freshman nursing student from Kinston, who first donated in high school.
“I started donating my freshman years when I turned 16,” he said. “I always thought it’s a good way to help people. I knew I wanted to do something medical for a career and decided on nursing.”
Peter Schoenhals, a senior from Archbold, studying middle childhood education made his second lifetime donation Friday.
“I thought it would be helpful,” he said.
Many faculty and staff members supported the blood drive. Racha Gruet, an administrative assistant in the Communications department, made her third lifetime donation Friday. She still gets a little nervous before donating but said, “I do it every time the blood drive comes to campus.”
The next Cedarville blood drive is tentatively scheduled for February.
