Reflections 31: Volunteering

If you could be a patron of a charity or organization, which would you choose? Why?

There are two volunteer opportunities I am passionate about.

The first is TLC--Teens Living with Cancer.

With the Spanish Club in high school, I helped organize a walk-a-thon for TLC, and I got to learn a lot about oncology for adolescents. There is such a bleak outcome for many of those diagnosed because of our current treatments being ill-suited for the changing bodies of teenagers at worst, and a stall at best. It is a very interesting and emotional field, and I would do anything in my power to help them.

The second is blood donation, which is one of the topics that gets me very fired up. I'll try and be calm, but no promises, lol.

When Dad was sick, he got many blood transfusions....so many in fact that the amount is now described in gallons of blood transfused, not pints. Throughout his two year stay at the hospital, I never once worried they would run out of blood to give him. Most people that have loved ones in the hospital or are in the hospital themselves that need transfusions usually don't let the thought cross their mind, and would in fact be outraged if the hospital was poorly stocked for emergencies.

But there is a finite amount of stored blood, and with people refusing to donate for the most absurd, shitty of reasons, there is always a great need for it that may not always be able to be supplied.

There are tons of perfectly legitimate, valid reasons for not donating blood. I myself have been rejected several times I have tried to donate (usually because of low iron). Actual phobia of needles, being under or overweight, disease, recent tattoos or piercings....there are many acceptable reasons for not being able to donate.

But what really ticks me off is shitty, half-assed excuses that are selfish.

One of the biggest I have heard: "I don't like needles".

Fuck you--who LIKES needles?

"I'm scared of needles! -laugh-"

No one likes pain. But here's the test--you are in the hospital and have to have an IV to be cured, to have better chances; you have to have an epidural for birth, a vaccination for the flu, or be put under for surgery; or you yourself have to have a transfusion....you don't cry to the nurse that you can't do it because you are scared of needles, do you? No, you do what you can to preserve yourself. Then no, you're not scared of needles, you don't have a good excuse. You're just selfish enough that you won't go through the littlest bit of pain to save someone else's life.

"I don't have the time".

UGH! There are blood drives all over your city every day of the week, and you can't carve out an hour to help save lives? Tool.

In the end, I have done tons of volunteer work--Habitat for Humanity, children's hospital, Invisible Children....but the only one that has really gotten me riled up is blood donation. If you are reading this, donate blood. Save a life. I promise--your excuse is probably crappy.

~a Cranky Andie~