Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) hosted a blood drive for Central Jersey Blood on Friday, February 15 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in Anacon Hall.
Kevin Gilsenan, sophomore and business major, is the public relations chair for TKE. Gilsenan said, “This was the first blood drive our fraternity organized and we hope to organize more blood drives in the future.”
Gilsenan was very pleased with the turn out, which ended up having 47 volunteers sign up.
Christa Hogan, professor in the school of social work, works through out the school year to raise awareness for other philanthropies of organizations as well. Tau Kappa Epsilon raises money and spreads awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research and Alzheimer’s Association.
All students and faculty were invited to volunteer to donate blood. Gilsenan said, “When volunteers came in, they had to sign in with brothers of the fraternity. Then they had to go through a number of different tests to make sure that they met the requirements to donate blood.”
Gab D’Acunto, communication major and junior, signed up in advance to donate blood. D’Acunto said, “I like that TKE is giving the university the chance to donate blood. It’s not a type of community service I would think to do, but when I saw they were organizing a blood drive I figured I would get involved. I was a little nervous but I’m glad I participated.”
Another volunteer, Britney Acquaire, junior and president of Delta Phi Epsilon, said, “I like to try to get involved with other organization’s events. I really liked that TKE put together this blood drive and gave the Monmouth community the opportunity to get involved. I would definitely volunteer again if they have blood drives in the future.”
Casey McCabe, junior criminal justice major, and member of the Greek Senate eboard, visited the blood drive. McCabe said, “I felt this was such a great cause.”
McCabe made sure to stop by and check out the event, even though she was not going to donate blood. “I was impressed and happy that so many volunteers came out to support TKE and Central Jersey Blood,” she said.
Gilsenan said, “One of the main goals of our fraternity is to find ways to help our surrounding community. We felt that facilitating a blood drive for Central Jersey Blood would be a great way of doing so.”
Students and faculty looking to donate blood do not have to wait for the next blood drive on campus. Central Jersey Blood headquarters is located in Shrewsbury. They also have offices located in Howell and Toms River. Visiting their website can help guide volunteers to become a blood donor, sponsor a blood drive, make cash donations, volunteer for the organization, meet blood recipients and find upcoming events in the area.
