By Casey Pigg

Quincy University fraternity Delta Tau Delta held their first blood drive of the semester Feb. 6, collecting roughly 26 units, or pints, of blood. Throughout the day, many students, staff and faculty turned out to the blood drive to give blood.

“I think this is awesome. It’s great. I know that the Red Cross really has the need for blood. I get their phone calls and emails all the time with urgency. So, I think this is fantastic,” Deborah Stock, administrative assistant of Quincy University, said.

Stock is rather familiar with the Red Cross’ need for blood, donating a total of 20 times in her life. This blood drive was the second one that she participated in hosted by the Delts. Stock has never been a stranger to the importance of giving blood. In fact, her own mother, 84, has given 20 gallons of blood throughout her life. This is equivalent to 164 donation times or 164 sticks.

“I’ve always had that good example in my life,” Stock said.

The Red Cross has always had a need for blood. However, it seems that this need is greater than ever. According to Candy Hellyer, a team leader for the Red Cross, there is a large shortage this winter caused by all of the blood drive cancellations caused by bad weather.

Not only are donations extremely important to the Red Cross currently, but they are also very easy to do. So easy that there is even a donor app that the Red Cross has created to help out the process. On this app, you can make appointments, cancel appointments, complete the rapid pass, and even track where your blood will end up and what it will be used for.

“It’s good to start when you’re young to get in the habit of doing it. It’s so easy. We take care of you and give you a nice snack. So, come see us. It’s pretty easy,” Hellyer said.

As the organization that puts on these blood drives at Quincy University, the Delts are no strangers to the importance of giving blood either. Carson Kroshinski, senior and former President of Delta Tau Delta, said that the fraternity has been putting on at least one blood drive a semester since he started at QU.

“Personally, I am very afraid of needles but I still give anyways because I think it is very important to do so because there is a large demand for blood. And just us as helping people, we can do our small part helping some kid that’s sick or something,” Kroshinski said.

As it is an important act of service for the Delts, they plan on continuing their blood drives in the future and encourage everyone who can to donate.

“Put yourself into somebody else’s shoes. If you were the one going through cancer or an accident or whatever. That’s kinda what I do personally because I hate doing it but I love doing it. At the end of the day, the internal struggle, the good side wins,” Kroshinski said. “I just encourage everyone to get out there and donate and if you haven’t, if you missed out on this blood drive, I would encourage you to go to your local Red Cross.”