While walking into a blood bank and facing the sharp point of a needle might be a scary and stressful feat for the average joe, Minnie Flanders, appreciation ambassador for LifeStream Blood Bank’s La Quinta location, encourages the community to brave the doors of their local blood bank and come anyway, assuring us that a little pinch goes a long way in saving lives.
“People who give are happy people,” says Flanders, who has been a LifeStream volunteer — and donor — for eight years, assisting with recruitment for the national bone marrow donor program and caring for donors in the office canteen area for the final stages of the donation process.
Flanders moved to California in 1954 and, after spending time raising her family, decided to give back to her community by supporting charities and churches. “I feel you need to give your time,” she says, “so I volunteer [at LifeStream], and then I volunteer at the Joslyn Community Center as well.”
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