Student Government Association Sponsoring Bloodmobile Visit On Wednesday, Jan. 22

The VGCC Student Government Association will sponsor a Bloodmobile visit on the Main Campus on Wednesday, Jan. 22, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the Civic Center.

All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to support this worthwhile project.

The visits during the past academic year were very successful, according to VGCC Dean of Student Services Gene Purvis. The college is looking to continue to uphold its reputation.

Members of the public are also invited and encouraged to attend the Bloodmobile drive. There is ample parking available in front of the building, and enough collection areas will be set up so that waiting to donate should be short.

Anyone in good health who is 17 years or older and who weighs 110 pounds or more may safely give blood every 56 days, according to the American Red Cross.

According to the American Red Cross website ( http://www.redcross.org/donate/give/ ), many generous Americans nationwide have been donating blood since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001, to ensure a sustained and secure blood supply for all Americans. Together with the Red Cross, these blood heroes are ensuring that the safest possible blood is readily available whenever and wherever needed – for the military, for other blood centers in America and for all 5,000 of America’s hospitals.

We all expect blood to be there for us, but barely a fraction of those who can give do, the website says. Yet sooner or later, virtually all of us will face a time of great vulnerability in which we will need blood. And that time is all too often unexpected. From its beginning, the American Red Cross has formed a community of service, of generous, strong and decent people bound by beliefs beyond themselves. The honor, spirit and resources of the American people comes forth with neighbors helping neighbors in need – during earthquakes, floods, fires, storms – and also for the deeply personal and often quiet disasters that require a gift of blood.

The VGCC SGA thanks all donors for their assistance with this worthy project.