A blood drive drew students from all different parts of campus to Newcomer 19 on Jan. 26.

The event was organized by Travis Grimm and Cody McCoy, who have been the campus coordinators for the Blood Drive for the last three years. They were picked by a graduated athlete to help to advocate for and coordinate the blood drive.

Their supervisor, Mara Miller, usually seeks athletes to help coordinate as their schedules line up better with the drive and they are known figures around campus.

This year they’ll be on the lookout for new advocates to fill their role in the coming year.

Some of Grimm’s and McCoy’s duties include putting up flyers around campus to promote the event and announcing it in the communicator. They also go through the dorms and the apartments asking people to sign up for the blood drive.

Grimm mentioned this was a cool opportunity to get to know new people, especially the incoming first-years.

“This is another way to build relationships with people around campus,” noted Grimm.

On the day of the drive, they help unload the truck, set up the supplies, and help the Red Cross team with anything they might need.

While the blood drive has many successes, it also has its struggles. Sometimes the blood drive struggles to get more people to sign up due to various reasons.

GC is known for its great SST program, but this has proven to sometimes be a temporary barrier for students. Since they have traveled abroad, they sometimes cannot give blood until the following year. Another obstacle for people is tattoos.

Students with tattoos are not able to donate blood until after six months have passed since they got it. For athletes, it is sometimes hard for them to give blood because many are in season during the time of the drive. The most common obstacle for people is the fear of needles.

But these barriers have not stopped Travis and Cody from getting people to sign up.

Kadie Spoor, a first-year, is fearful of needles, but she knew that this was for a good cause and wanted to help people if she could.

Spoor explained, “It was definitely worth it because it’s going to help people.”

As they have been working for the blood drive, they have seen an increasing number of donors.

Their usual goal for a typical blood drive event is approximately 30 donors and for the past two years, they have had almost twice as many donors. They note that usually donors come from those living in the dorms because the student population is much higher there than in the apartments.

Most people do not realize the impact the blood drive has but it is really beneficial to many people all over.

McCoy explained: “Each donation is supposed to help three people.”

Especially now, the need is even greater. Natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, hurricanes require much more blood than ever before.

For those who didn’t get the chance to donate blood on Friday, don’t worry. There will be another one in the spring, so when the time comes, feel free to contact Grimm or McCoy to sign up.