Thursday, April 25, 2024

Good Intentions to Effective Actions

Kara Greer

 

By Mariwyn Evans, Red Cross volunteer


MURFREESBORO, Tenn., April 25, 2024 - “I’m 57 years old, and I still like to believe that people have good intentions,” says Kara Greer, a mother of six, grandmother of three, marathon runner, and cyber security expert from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “If you spread the word to enough people, they will take action.” 

 

Greer begin spreading the word at 15-years-old, when the then class president of McClure North High School in St. Louis, MO organized her first blood drive for the students. “My mother was a professor of nursing at St. Louis Community College, and I volunteered as a Candy Striper at her clinical facility at County Hospital. I saw firsthand that there were people in great need,” says Greer.  

 

Why focus on donating blood? “Science can replicate some parts of blood, but there is still no identical replication for whole blood. That is why I continue to donate every 56 days,” explains Greer. These days, she often takes along a friend or two from her running club or her church to donate at the Red Cross facility in Murfreesboro. Greer also posts photos of every donation on her Facebook and Instagram feeds with #SaveaLife and #RedCross hashtags to encourage others to give. 

 

Not every donation is so routine. While visiting relatives over Christmas, Greer drove 12 hours back to St. Louis to give blood to the three-day-old baby of a childhood friend. The newborn needed multiple transfusions during open heart surgery. “If I hadn’t been in the habit of giving blood, it might have seemed impossible, but to me it was just natural to donate,” she says.  

 

Decades later, Greer again jumped into action when a fellow employee at Schneider Electric in Franklin, TN, became gravely ill. Launched from the company’s website, the “Sleeves up for Steph” campaign produced 304 units of blood for the Red Cross.  

 

How did she get so many people—many first-time donors—to participate? “I try to lead by example,” she says. “You try to convince people and take the excuses away. I also offer to go with hesitant first-time donors and hold their hands. And I reminded them that at the end, you get to eat a cookie. What could be better than that!” 

 

Greer has donated 240 pints of whole blood over the last 40 years and continues to donate. “If God has blessed you with good health and the ability to donate, whether to friends or random strangers, do it!

Friday, April 19, 2024

National Volunteer Week Spotlight: T. Arnold Ferguson

It's National Volunteer Week and we're celebrating T. Arnold Ferguson's 🌟 65 YEARS OF SERVICE! 🌟

T., of the Southeast Tennessee Red Cross Chapter, began his Red Cross service as a member of his high school’s Youth Council. Since then, he’s supported Red Cross chapters throughout New England, Ohio and Tennessee. He’s also touched each Red Cross line of service.

To T., being a Red Cross volunteer means giving service to his local, national and international community. “The primary thing that has inspired me to continue all these years is that in my many varied roles with the Red Cross ─ from stuffing envelopes to board member ─ I have witnessed the real impact we have on the lives and well-being of people,” he said.

“Perhaps the one experience that stands out most is when a young man who had been one of my first aid students let me know that, because of what I had taught him, he had been able to save his father’s life,” he recalled. “He thought I had empowered him to do that, but it was the Red Cross that had empowered me. It not only taught me the first aid skills, but it taught me how to teach those skills to others. “

Thursday, April 18, 2024

The Nashville Predators and American Red Cross Team Up to Encourage Blood Donation April 22 – April 26


NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 18, 2024 The American Red Cross and the Nashville Predators urge donors to help increase the blood supply for hospitals by donating blood this April. People of all blood types – especially type O blood donors, the most needed blood group by hospitals – and platelet donors are needed daily to ensure blood products are available for hospitals at a moment’s notice.   
 

The need for blood products always picks up as spring turns into summer. Hospitals can often see higher trauma cases as people begin traveling for summer vacations. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood. Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured; they can only come from volunteer donors. 

 

The partnership with the Nashville Predators is very important for the American Red Cross. The Red Cross supplies about 40 percent of all blood products to hospitals across the nation, including Level 1 Trauma hospitals like Vanderbilt University Medical Center. All blood types are needed, but there is a demand for type O negative and type O positive blood. O negative type blood is the universal donor that can be given to any patient of any blood type during emergencies. Those type O blood bags are used most by hospital emergency rooms to treat trauma patients and during surgeries.  

 

Don’t wait − make an appointment to give blood or platelets by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS. In thanks for helping, all presenting donors will receive a $10 gift card by email and a chance at a $7,000 prize drawing 

 

Nashville Predators Foundation blood donation opportunities: April 22 – April 26  

 

April 22, 2024 

 

Spring Hill Community  

First Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Gym  

5344 Main Street 

Spring Hill, TN 37174 

12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.  

  

Clarksville American Red Cross  

Donor Room  

1760 Madison Street 

Clarksville, TN 37043 

10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

  

Goodlettsville Church  

Activity Building  

226 S. Main Street 

Goodlettsville, TN 37072 

11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  

  

Pulaski Community  

The Rec Center - Gym  

333 East College Street 

Pulaski, TN 38478 

1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

 

April 23, 2024 

 

Celebration Lutheran Church  

Fellowship Hall  

3425 N. Mt Juliet Road  

Mt. Juliet, TN 37122 

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  

  

City of Brentwood  

Brentwood Library - Meeting Rooms  

8109 Concord Road  

Brentwood, TN 37027 

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  

  

Kempville Chapel Old Time Methodist Church  

Gym  

196 Kempville Hwy  

Carthage, TN 37030 

1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.  

  

Crossville Community  

First Methodist Church - Annex  

69 Neecham Street 

Crossville, TN 38555 

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  

  

Vanderbilt University Medical Center  

100 Oaks - 1st Floor Conference Rooms A-C 

719 E Thompson Lane  

Nashville, TN 37204 

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  

  

Ford Ice Center Bellevue  

Room #1 & 4 

7638 B Highway 70 S 

Nashville, TN 37221 

1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.  

  

Ford Ice Center Antioch  

Rooms 1 & 2 

5264 Hickory Hollow Parkway 

Antioch, TN 37013 

1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. 

 

April 24, 2024  

 

Sumner Regional Medical Center  

Sumner Station - Room 213 

225 Big Station Camp Blvd.  

Gallatin, TN 37066 

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.  

  

Bowling Green American Red Cross  

Holiday Inn University Plaza & Sloan Convention Center - Meeting Rooms  

1021 Wilkinson Trace   

Bowling Green, KY 42103 

10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

  

Cookeville Community  

Putnam County Library  

50 E. Broad Street 

Cookeville, TN 38501 

11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  

  

Clarksville American Red Cross  

Donor Room  

1760 Madison Street 

Clarksville, TN 37043 

10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

  

Polk County Community  

Benton United Methodist Church - Fellowship Hall  

135 Highland Drive 

Benton, TN 37307 

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.  

  

Shelbyville Community  

First Presbyterian Church - Fellowship Hall  

600 N. Brittain Street  

Shelbyville, TN 37160 

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  

  

World Outreach Church  

Leadership Park Gym  

1921 New Salem Highway  

Murfreesboro, TN 37129 

1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

 

April 25, 2024 

 

Columbia Community  

Tennessee Army National Guard  

844 N. James Campbell Blvd. 

Columbia, TN 38401 

10:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.  

  

First United Methodist Church Smyrna  

Fellowship Hall 

300 Sam Hagar Street 

Smyrna, TN 37167 

9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.  

  

Unicoi County Family YMCA  

Gym  

601 Love Street 

Erwin, TN 37650 

12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

  

Southeast Tennessee American Red Cross  

Training Room  

4113 S. Access Road  

Chattanooga, TN 37406 

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 

  

Hartsville Community  

Trousdale County Community Center  

301 East Main Street 

Hartsville, TN 37074 

1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. 

 

April 26, 2024 

 

Southern Adventist University  

Presidential Banquest Room  

4881 Taylor Circle 

Collegedale, TN 37315 

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 

  

Winchester Community  

Winchester Church of Christ - Fellowship Hall  

1230 South College Street 

Winchester, TN 37398 

1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.  

  

Bowling Green American Red Cross  

Holiday Inn University Plaza & Sloan Convention Center - Meeting Rooms  

1021 Wilkinson Trace   

Bowling Green, KY 42103 

10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

  

East Tennessee American Red Cross  

Auditorium 

6921 Middlebrook Pike 

Knoxville, TN 37909 

9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

 

How to donate blood 

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device to make an appointment or for more information. To register for a Predators blood drive be sure to enter the code PREDS19. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also must meet certain height and weight requirements. 

 

Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass® to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, before arriving at the blood drive. To get started, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App.   

 

Amplify your impact − volunteer!  

Another way to support the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross is to become a volunteer blood donor ambassador at Red Cross blood drives. Blood donor ambassadors help greet, check-in and thank blood donors to ensure they have a positive donation experience.  

  

Volunteers can also serve as transportation specialists, playing a vital role in ensuring lifesaving blood products are delivered to nearby hospitals. For more information and to apply for either position, visit redcross.org/volunteertoday 

  

About the American Red Cross: 

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members, and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.