In 2017, Thrivent client Linda Keepers took over as coordinator for a long-running Red Cross blood drive out of her church, Lake Street Methodist, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Since then, she’s been organizing two per year. With 70-100 donors per drive, it’s a lot to coordinate—from recruiting and following up with donors to getting day-of volunteers and preparing food for donors and Red Cross employees.
A few years in, she and her husband, Dick, learned about
“We were paying for all of this out of our own pocket,” Linda says. “When Ian told me about Thrivent Action Teams, it was a godsend.”
She uses the seed money to buy items for the meal she prepares for the Red Cross staff, as well as sandwich supplies, fruit cups and paper products for the buffet available for donors. Volunteers also provide extras like fruit and desserts. “It’s great having all these people helping,” Linda adds, noting that she had 21 volunteers at her blood drive in May.
That day, 84 units of blood were donated. “With that amount of blood, we were able to help 252 people,” Linda says. “Each unit of blood can be divided into platelets, red cells and plasma. So, there are three different people that can be helped with that one unit of blood.”
Linda first donated blood in her 20s; now, at 73, she donates blood four times a year and has donated more than 17 gallons of blood in her lifetime. “I’m planning on donating blood as long as I’m able to,” she says.
“There just aren’t enough donors to go around for all the people that might need blood,” she adds. “It doesn’t cost you a cent and it only takes an hour of your time, but it’s so important.”
