Lots of support for summer blood drive

WEBUTUCK — The summer months are always hardest for the Red Cross, when blood donations are low and demand is high. But when the organization put out the word that it was looking for a student to help organize a drive for the end of summer, Lauren Trotter answered the call. She  fielded an impressive number of residents to donate for a drive at Webutuck High School held last Saturday, Aug. 15.

Trotter received some organizational help from Rudy Eschbach, who has put together his fair share of Webutuck blood drives throughout the years. But the majority of the work, including hanging up signs, getting press releases out to the newspapers and radio stations and making good old-fashioned telephone calls; that was all Trotter.

“It was easy to get everyone to sign up,� she said. “Everyone wanted to give.�

Trotter was provided with a list from the Red Cross of local residents who had donated before.

“I left a few hundred messages on people’s answering machines,� she said. “The calling was the hard part.�

The goal for Saturday’s drive was 35 units, but by noon (the drive lasted from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) 36 units had already been collected. Unlike other Webutuck drives, Red Cross had set up a giant bus as a portable donating station in the front high school parking lot, with Trotter manning the sign-in station just inside the high school doors.

Kristen Kelleher is a high school student from Amenia who saw the drive advertised in the paper, and stopped by to do her part.

“It’s my fourth time donating,� she said. When asked why she felt it was important, she replied, “because we could save people’s lives.�

An additional incentive for donors was a free carton of ice cream, given away by Friendly’s. And as most would agree, ice cream was the perfect antidote for Saturday’s scorching weather.

Trotter said she was very happy with the results of the drive, and added she would help out with future blood drives if asked.

“It was a lot of work, but it was definitely for a good cause,� she said. “People from the Red Cross were telling me about how generous people in this area are. We’re the best out of the entire Dutchess County.�