Elizabethtown College boasts more than 80 active clubs and organizations available to students, according to the school’s website. They span the full range of disciplines on campus and include interest-based groups for a variety of hobbies. This week, we’ll take a look at one that is new to the roster as of the Spring 2023 semester: the Red Cross Club.
The club was founded by sophomore public health major Caitlyn Jensen during her first year on campus. She now serves as the president, planning and organizing various events in which members can participate.
Jensen applied for administration to officially approve the club after finding an appreciation for the Red Cross and the work they do for communities in need. Her interest began with the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the Red Cross helped people around the world by providing counseling for families affected by the virus, supporting shelters for people in quarantine, providing food for those financially impacted and collecting blood and plasma donations, according to their website.
“I learned a lot about the need for blood products when COVID hit,” Jensen said. “At one point, they were picking and choosing who got blood products because there were so few.” After researching the shortage and the issues it caused for healthcare workers and their patients, she was led to the landing page for the American Red Cross.
According to the American Red Cross website, their mission statement is “prevent[ing] and alleviat[ing] human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.” Jensen’s Red Cross Club aims to fulfill the same role for Etown’s own campus and beyond.
“I thought their mission tied in perfectly with Etown’s ‘educate for service,’” Jensen said.
Other officers of the club include sophomore Aurora Lefever as the vice president, sophomore Gillian Heyden as the treasurer and sophomore Shannon Brady as the secretary, with a total membership of about 20 students. The club is advised by Director of the Public Health Department Robert Aronson.
Last semester, the club invited speakers from the American Red Cross to discuss and educate students on international humanitarian law and its global effects on armed conflicts. Additionally, students were able to learn about the history of the American Red Cross organization itself. Students were also given an opportunity to network with the speakers, who described numerous career opportunities for students within the organization.
“Our contact has connections for students who want to get experience in marketing, biomedical services… pretty much any service that the Red Cross offers, students can get involved with,” Jensen said. “The Red Cross Club can also count for volunteer hours for the honors program.”
Starting Sept. 20, the officers of the Red Cross Club will be hosting a social media campaign to raise awareness for sickle cell disease. Students can participate by reading and sharing the informational posts made to the members’ accounts on their own pages to spread the word. Other events, including a blood drive and an opportunity for students to send winter holiday cards to veterans, will be hosted by the club later this academic year.
For more information about the club and its events, please email redcrossclub@etown.edu.
