Blast from the past: Volunteering a way of life for some

All year you have to beg people to give blood. Yesterday the man at St. Vincent’s asks the crowd to please stand in line and not be impatient.

–– Jimmy Breslin
Newsday Columnist
Sept. 12, 2001

There is a wonderful spirit of volunteerism in America right now.
Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin puts it in perspective, and we want to take it a step further.
Americans respond admirably to a tragedy. Right now, we can’t think of a tragedy in recent history whose scope matches the intentional plane collisions of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the crash of a hijacked plane almost certainly on a similar murder/suicide
mission.
All around the country, people send their sympathies and beg to help out. A firefighter living in Myrtle Beach, originally from New York City, whose son still lives in New York City, took three other Myrtle Beach firefighters with him to help. Volunteers from all over the country have come to New York to assist in removing debris.
So many have come, in fact, that most are being turned away. People in the country have been trying to help out most by donating blood.
There was a blood drive in Allendale County last week. It had been planned before the terrorist attack. The Red Cross brought enough supplies for 50 donors, thinking it would not need that many. The Bloodmobile ran out.
Nationally, possibly for the first time ever, the nation’s blood supplies are full. So many people were donating blood that they too were turned away. Donated blood can be kept for 45 days. In a few weeks, it will be time to collect a new 45 day supply.
There will be a blood drive in our parking lot Nov. 1. The People-Sentinel, is partnering with the Shepeard Community Blood Center and Barnwell County Hospital.
We hope as many people and more turn up here as turned up in Allendale. The tragedy will be months in the past then, but people shouldn’t forget.
All this, we think, is a sign of the goodness and the volunteer spirit that lies in all Americans – it is a sure sign of why we’ll win the war on terrorism once launched.
But we also want to remind people of an article in last week’s paper. We wrote about Billy Jean Sprawls of Williston, who received a state then a national award for her volunteerism. She received it before the attacks.
The people rushing to donate and volunteer are to be commended for their response to this tragedy. What then can you say about a person such as Sprawls?
For her, volunteerism isn’t a response, it’s not a reaction. She’s pro-active. For her, helping out is a round-the-clock way of life. People in the area should be proud to have such a neighbor to set an example for us.