“I always knew I wanted to work with volunteers!” laughs Katy Colburn, Volunteer Resources Liason at Bloodworks Northwest, formerly known as Lane Blood Center. The Holden Center for Leadership and Community Engagement worked with Colburn and Bloodwrorks Northwest in our DuckCorps teams. Colburn’s journey to Bloodworks Northwest began after college when she set out to look for volunteer management jobs. First working at Greenhill Humane Society, Colburn “loved working with volunteers, loved the animals, and loved the mission.” After a couple of years at the Humane Society, Colburn wanted to grow and explore. She took a job with United Way of Lane County, but quickly realized she loved working “directly with individuals and getting to know them.” So, when Colburn saw that Bloodworks Northwest was looking for someone to launch their volunteer program, it was the perfect match.
Bloodworks Northwest is a blood donation center in Eugene. The center is still accepting donations, though protocol has changed because of the COVID-19 virus. Instead of drop-in donations or bus blood drives, “critical” blood donations can now be made by scheduling an appointment on their website.
Although operations at Bloodworks Northwest have changed, Bloodwork’s mission has stayed constant: maintain a supply of blood to provide lifesaving transfusions to patients all over the Pacific Northwest. The Eugene center is part of a network of 13 centers that make up Bloodworks Northwest, a large blood donation organization that tests, researches, and quickly distributes blood to hospitals across the Pacific Northwest. All of the blood at Lane County hospitals comes from the suppliers in the Bloodworks organization. “Blood donation is a matter of life and death for people,” says Colburn, and “1 in 4 people will need a transfusion in their life.”
Colburn notes specifically in blood donation, there are challenges for volunteers and persons who make donations. Unlike a soup kitchen where volunteers can more easily see their actions make a difference, people who donate blood will often not see the blood save some else’s life. “It is critical people donate blood,” notes Colburn, “but you don’t often get to see the patient actually receive the blood.” Blood donors have to “trust that there are people out there that need it.”
A notable exception to this rule, and one of Colburn’s favorite memories from Bloodworks Northwest, happened a couple of years ago when Colburn was working with a volunteer who was also an ER nurse. The nurse decided to volunteer at Bloodworks Northwest after seeing the blood bank’s logo on a unit of blood he was prepping for a patient in the emergency room. “For him, it was surreal to see the whole process,” Colburn tells, from donation, processing and testing, to the donated blood saving lives in the ER.
Further, COVID-19 has provided opportunities for the organization to be creative in its virtual and remote opportunities for volunteers and the community. For example, volunteers recently made masks for the entire staff of Bloodworks Northwest. Each staff member was given three masks they could sanitize between uses.
Another project came as a result of a huge influx in first-time donors and returning donors. In response, Colburn started a program where volunteers working remotely call these new and returning donors, simply to thank them for donating. COVID-19 has created a “real opportunity for us to think about the way we connect with people and the way we operate,” says Colburn.
Working with volunteers just shy of 10 years, Colburn has advice for students interested in getting involved in their community through service. “When volunteering, you should be doing something you love,” notes Colburn. What nonprofits need most now are people who are passionate about what they are volunteering for and follow through. To find the right organization to work with, Colburn recommends students explore organizations they are familiar with, but also look to do “something outside of your comfort zone.” When volunteering, think about the experiences you want to gain and use volunteering to check out something you haven’t thought of before. Colburn also recommends students stay in a flexible mindset to find new opportunities.
Bloodworks Northwest has benefitted from volunteers and blood donations from students at the University of Oregon, Lane Community College, and local high schools to name a few. While Lane Blood is not actively recruiting in-person volunteers, Colburn noted there is an opportunity for students interested in nonprofit work and who are tech-savvy to help Bloodworks Northwest transition their software system.
Further, Colburn emphasized that donating blood by appointment is still vital, especially during COVID-19. Persons can donate blood once every two months and the process takes an hour maximum.
To make an appointment to donate blood and to see the job description for the software liaison, visit Bloodworks Northwest at https://www.bloodworksnw.org/donate/locations/lane.
Article by Nicole Mullen, sophomore, CliftonStrengths Consultant
