Local residents Monday visited the Hollister Red Cross office on Fifth Street to learn about opportunities to volunteer with the agency.
Part of the Monterey Bay chapter, the San Benito County office is located at 357 Fifth St.
Nants Foley is serving as the preparedness manager for the local Red Cross office in Hollister. But even with a paid staff member in the community, ARC relies heavily on volunteers.
At Monday’s open house, visitors learned about opportunities to help out, from deploying to a disaster area as Foley did after Hurricane Sandy to hosting a blood drive in the community as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does once a month.
Prospective volunteers learned about opportunities in Red Cross blood services, CERT training (civilian emergency response team), and ARES ham radio operation. Some committed volunteers such as Jill Hoffman, Monica Flores and David Gutierrez talked about their own experiences working with Red Cross.
On Tuesday, county supervisors recognized some of the important work done by the Red Cross when they signed a proclamation naming January “National Blood Donor Month.”
“Thanks for recognizing the importance of blood donor month,” Foley said. “In the winter months it is especially hard to get donors. It takes about an hour to give a pint of blood. One pint can save up to three lives.”
She said in 2012, 571 pints of blood were donated in San Benito County at Red Cross blood drives hosted by community organizations.
Businesses or organizations interested in hosting a blood drive may call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org, as can those interested in making an appointment to donate blood. For more on the local Red Cross efforts, visit 357 Fifth St., in Hollister, call 636-2100 or email Na*********@re******.org.
Upcoming blood drive:
The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive in Hollister from 1 to 6 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1670 Cienega Road, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 29 at the shopping center on 580 Tres Pinos Road. Details: 1 (800) RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or redcrossblood.org.
