With the recent natural disasters ravaging the country, organizations and hospitals need blood donations now more than ever. Hamilton College answered that call on Sept. 8 with the annual Fall Blood Drive.

The event took place in the Charlean and Wayland Blood Fitness and Dance Center on the first floor, where the American Red Cross set up beds, desks, and the apparatuses needed to draw blood from donors. Hamilton has five blood drives every year, with the first being in September. The other blood drives are always planned for the months of November, January, April, and June. These events are all strategically scheduled by the Red Cross, as donors need a minimum of 56 days between each donation in order to safely be able to give again.

David Thompson, the Director of Blood Fitness Center and Campus Wellness, has been overseeing the five annual blood drives for the past 11 years. Before Thompson took charge, the drives were planned through the Student Activities Office and took place at another location on campus. Thompson changed the location to the fitness center not only for convenience of management but visibility as well.

“It’s a really central location,” Thompson said. “A lot of people walk down Martin’s Way and they see the signs, so we get a lot of walk-ins too.”

Thompson believes that running the drives is an integral part of his job.

“Community service is definitely a component of wellness,” Thompson said. “Getting people together and doing nice things for others certainly falls under that role as well.”

As the self-described “coordinator-facilitator” of the blood drives, Thompson acts as the middleman between the Red Cross and Hamilton College. Each drive has a sponsor, and because Thompson works in the athletic department, sponsors have typically been sports teams.

As soon as he is notified by the Red Cross about an upcoming drive, Thompson sends an email to all the teams and asks for interested parties to write back immediately. The sponsorship is granted on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the men’s hockey team has been the first to respond for the past few Fall Blood Drives. This year was no exception, as the event was once again sponsored by men’s hockey.

As sponsors, the men’s hockey team’s role is to publicize the drive and help recruit donors. Rory Gagnon ’19 and Ian Nichols ’19 are both players on the team and took charge for this year’s Fall Drive, sending out emails and convincing their peers to register as donors.

“We have established a solid relationship with the Red Cross and look forward to the continued growth of that relationship for years to come,” Gagnon said. “Not only is it a terrific way to support the community we live in, the fall drive is also great for our team since it encourages us to work together towards a common goal early on in the year.Everyone is able to contribute to the cause in some way, and all the guys are happy to do so,” Nichols added.

This year, the Fall Drive received donations from 99 donors. Thompson keeps track of the numbers and encourages teams to try and break the current record: 107 donations at a drive sponsored by the women’s track team.

At the end of the day, however, the men’s hockey team was just happy to have supported the cause.

“This event is important because there is always a need for donations for numerous reasons,” Nichols said. “Donating is a really simple way to help somebody in need.”

Thompson agrees on the importance of donating blood, and is proud of the way that the college gives back.

“The people from the Red Cross, who do this at a lot of colleges, have said to me that this place has been extremely, consistently generous in participating in these drives,” Thompson said. “It’s just one of the things that makes Hamilton a great place.”