The University of Wisconsin-Platteville held its three-day Residence Hall Association/National Residence Hall Honorary blood drive Feb. 26-28 in Ullsvik Hall.
During the three-day event sponsored by the American Red Cross, 827 Pioneer students and faculty gave blood. They were assisted by some 200 volunteers who collected a total of 808 units of blood.
“We had a very successful blood drive this spring even though we were slightly short of our goal of 840 units,” said RHA president Josh Huber, a junior civil engineering major.
Freshman biology major Hannah Turkal was one of the first volunteers to donate blood.
“At my high-school in the small town of Solon, Iowa, I was one of eight students who participated in a club called Students Against Destructive Decisions,” Turkal said. “We organized an annual blood-drive that turned out to be our biggest activity. Donating here at Platteville lets me carry on the tradition that I helped start at Solon High School.”
Because one unit of blood can be broken down into three separate components, as many as 2,400 individuals could benefit from the Pioneer blood donors.
“Pioneers have once again continued their tradition of supporting one of the most successful college blood drives in the country,” Huber said. “The history of our blood drive dates back to 1978, and the RHA/NRHH is proud to continue its leadership role in the organization of such a successful event.”
Junior Lucas Starke and sophomore Brian Mendrzycki, both civil engineering majors, said that they had a dual motivation to donate.
“It helped that my civil engineering computer applications professor offered extra credit to anyone in our class who volunteered to donate,” Starke said.
Other professors encouraged their students to donate blood by offering extra credit if they submitted a written summary of their volunteer experience.
Senior Katrinna Lee said she wanted to donate because she was inspired by relatives who donate regularly. After successfully donating, Katrinna had refreshments at a table with other students, all sporting “I Make a Difference“ stickers.
During the three-day event Pioneer Pete made an appearance to cheer on Pioneer blood donors and the a cappella group “Traces” stopped by to show their support.