Most students entering Rolfs Recreational Center are concerned with their own health. This week, however, RecSports and the South Bend Medical Foundation switched the focus to the well-being of others.
Blood donor recruiter for the South Bend Medical Foundation Jeanna Stuber said the blood drive registration table was set up at the front door to encourage walk-ins to take time out of their day to donate. The Rolfs entryway location was strategically chosen.
"I found out about the drive because it's at Rolfs," senior Chris Keogel said.
In addition to walk-in volunteers, 68 donors signed up in advance on Wednesday and over 70 signed up to donate on Thursday. This exceeded the Foundation's goal of 50 donors each day. All donations go to the Foundation's Central Blood Bank and are used in St. Joseph County. Stuber said that while there currently is no specific shortage in blood reserves, there is never a surplus.
Aside from the sheer volume of donations, another objective was achieved from this drive.
"We like to come to college campuses to get younger donors into a lifetime habit of donating blood," Stuber said.
Drives at Rolfs typically occur in October and at one point in the summer as well.
