wherein Liz rambles about the Red Cross
Feb. 18th, 2015 03:48 pmI am on the Red Cross mailing list, mostly because they know when I am eligible to donate blood again and start sending me pointed reminder emails; this is simpler than keeping track of the weeks myself. But it does mean I get some weird junk mail in the meantime.
Some mailings are nice! For instance, I now know that my latest donation was shipped to Manassas, VA, where some hospital was apparently short of O-positive. That's an effective, tangible piece of "you made a difference!" feedback.
Other mailings are weirder. Like, today they wanted me to persuade students to become "student leaders" -- i.e., to persuade other students to donate blood during the non-summer months, since students are apparently a highly seasonally-affected donor group -- in return for a scholarship and a gift card. Um, no. That is not the kind of volunteer work I am remotely good at. You want someone to organize your filing system for free? Sure. But don't make me talk to people, let alone try to sell them on anything.
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Hey, if you're eligible, go donate blood. *wry*
Some mailings are nice! For instance, I now know that my latest donation was shipped to Manassas, VA, where some hospital was apparently short of O-positive. That's an effective, tangible piece of "you made a difference!" feedback.
Other mailings are weirder. Like, today they wanted me to persuade students to become "student leaders" -- i.e., to persuade other students to donate blood during the non-summer months, since students are apparently a highly seasonally-affected donor group -- in return for a scholarship and a gift card. Um, no. That is not the kind of volunteer work I am remotely good at. You want someone to organize your filing system for free? Sure. But don't make me talk to people, let alone try to sell them on anything.
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Hey, if you're eligible, go donate blood. *wry*