” The American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive Tuesday, April 7 through Thursday, April 9 at the University of Akron. It will take place in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Although the blood drive will be open to the entire campus, it will be putting a lot of energy into encouraging the Greek community to participate.”
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The American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive Tuesday, April 7 through Thursday, April 9 at the University of Akron. It will take place in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Although the blood drive will be open to the entire campus, it will be putting a lot of energy into encouraging the Greek community to participate.

The chapter with the highest participation will receive a trophy and recognition from the Red Cross.

Go Greek, Give Red is the theme of this contest.

There will also be opportunities for non-Greeks who donate blood to win something. Everyone will have the chance to enter a raffle to win a T-shirt or an iTunes gift card. The drawings will be held at the end of each day.

We encourage all those who can to donate, Arah Bredenbeck said.

Bredenbeck is an intern and representative for the Red Cross. She is also the University of Akron’s Campus Intern Representative.

Bredenbeck, who started the job this year, said that this is the first year the University of Akron has really tried to generate attention and interest in the blood drives.

There are many blood shortages here at our local hospitals, she said.

To donate blood, a person must be at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds. They must not have donated blood in the last eight weeks. They must not have donated double red cells in the last 16 weeks.

A person must be healthy to donate, Bredenbeck said.

Healthy, she explained, simply means that a person feels well and can perform normal, everyday activities.

If someone had a chronic condition, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, being healthy means that the condition is being treated and is under control.

Anyone interested in giving blood can simply stop by the Recreation Center. They will then fill out a couple of sign in sheets.

After they are finished with the paperwork, they will need to do a private health history exam with a nurse. If the person passes then they will be eligible to donate blood.

Dizziness and lightheadedness may be felt shortly after donating, but should be minimized by eating a healthy breakfast and drinking a lot of water.

There will also be cookies, crackers and juice available after one donates to help elevate their blood sugar.

As a member of Alpha Delta Pi, Bredenbeck felt that she should use her position to help the blood drives achieve higher participation rates.

That is why the Go Greek, Give Blood contest was created.

I became involved with the Red Cross because it is an awesome way to give back to the community, Bredenbeck said.

She explained that universities across the country have blood drives that bring in almost five times the amount of students that blood drives at the University of Akron bring in.

We know the potential is here at Akron and would really like to see an increase, she said.

The blood drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday.

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