On Monday, Pi Sigma Epsilon hosted a blood drive in the parking lot of Duck Pond Field from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The drive was for The Blood Connection, a company based around North and South Carolina, according to the company’s website.

This is the second time The Blood Connection has come to campus, though this blood drive is the first in a series of monthly drives that will occur until April, Revonda Miller, account manager for The Blood Connection, said.

This drive had a smaller turnout than expected, Miller said, with 54 donors being their goal, and only 28 people signing in to donate as of 3 p.m. Fifty people donated in total by the end of the drive.

“With us being a new company, we’re just trying to get our donor base established,” Miller said. “So that we can send out an email blast and get people on our donor registry.”

Miller said with each blood drive, donors will receive something for donating.

“Today we have long-sleeve T-shirts and a $20 gift card to Subway,” Miller said.

The Blood Connection is rapidly expanding, company member Carolyn Deal said.

“We are expanding our reach,” Deal said. “We pretty much cover everything in Western North Carolina. We are really growing in Eastern North Carolina and now we’re just closing in the gap here.”

Blood is donated to local hospitals, and then sent farther away if enough is left over, Deal said. She also said the organization’s main concern is for the local communities.

The next blood drive will take place Nov. 8.

Story by Cameron Stuart 

Photo by Cameron Stuart

Featured photo caption:  Pi Sigma Epsilon hosted a blood drive in the parking lot of Duck Pond Field with The Blood Connection.