Strong Employee turnout sparks big day at CoServ’s 7th blood drive

Strong Employee turnout sparked CoServ and the Lake Cities Chamber's second-most attended blood drive to date.

The promise of a busy day could be seen even before the doors opened for CoServ’s seventh blood drive. While the co-op typically fills about 60 appointment slots, leaving the door open as always to walk-ins, on the morning of April 18, a whopping 74 appointments had been filled. The late surge in signups prompted additional staffing from the American Red Cross. Even still, it was one thing to see it on paper and another thing entirely to see the constant stream of donors over the course of the day.

Ben Crawford donates blood at the 7th CoServ blood drive
Ben Crawford donates blood at the 7th CoServ blood drive

“Whenever you have an opportunity to help others, why wouldn’t you?” said Whitney Gohlke, Manager of Academic Initiatives at CoServ. “I look back at the things I’ve had the privilege to be a part of over the years –blood drives, food donations, community events, and more—and I’ve been honored to serve alongside some incredible people. It was evident at this blood drive people were especially motivated to answer the call, and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

In total, CoServ collected 64 total units on the day, enough to help 192 people in need of blood donations or transfusions. The turnout was so strong, in fact, the event had to wrap up approximately a half hour earlier than planned as the staff from the Red Cross ran out of boxes to transport the donations –something that’s never happened at one of the prior drives.

“We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of support from our Employees and the community over the years, but this was definitely a first,” said Jennifer Ebert, CCF and Outreach Coordinator at CoServ. “We always try to do our part to make a difference, and commitment like that really epitomizes the kind of dedication CoServ and CoServ Employees have for serving others.”

Accounting for these most recent totals, CoServ and the Lake Cities Chamber-sponsored blood drive has now donated enough blood to help 1,200 people since July 2020.