The Red Cross's spring blood drive last Wednesday and Thursday collected 385 pints of blood, well above its goal of 340 pints. The drive also ended the tenure of Nancy and Paul Mitchell '51 as blood drive coordinators for the Upper Valley area.
The drive, held in Alumni Hall, brought hundreds of people together, as donors and volunteers came from both the College and the surrounding towns.
Blood collection started in Hanover during World War II as a way for students to help support their classmates who were fighting abroad.
At that time, the blood drive was run by Nancy Mitchell's father, Sidney Hayward. In those days, the College was home to a V12 group, part of a military program to provide accelerated training to become officers for the army.
The men in the V12 groups came from throughout the country, stayed here in Hanover for six months and were important in starting the blood drive, Nancy Mitchell said. The Church of Christ on College Street housed the original blood drives.
The blood drive as it is known today began in 1952, under the Red Cross.
The Mitchells took over the collection effort when the man who served as chairman before them became ill, Nancy Mitchell said. The Red Cross approached the Rotary Club, looking for a leader, and the Mitchells said they were interested.
This was not the Mitchells' first involvement with blood donation. Through both her father and her son, who required a blood transfusion as a child, Nancy Mitchell said she had already become accustomed to and aware of the importance of blood drives.
"There is a real need for blood collection," Nancy Mitchell said.
In the past, the blood drive was able to collect almost 600 pints in two days by sponsoring competitions among the Colleges dorms and sports teams for which group could donate the most blood.
Nancy Mitchell said they ended the practice when the College's deans "began to frown on this" competition.
Even so, the drive has consistently exceeded their goals for blood donations for the last five years.
The College has been instrumental in this success, Nancy Mitchell said. Throughout the years, many students have helped the blood drive, she said, but especially the members of Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Sigma Delta sorority, which all provide volunteers each year.
The three houses "provide half of the volunteers. The volunteers help put up posters around campus, unload the trucks, set up the donor room," Nancy Mitchell said. "They are excellent volunteers, and so many stay on to give blood."
The enthusiasm often spreads beyond the volunteers when they return to their houses and residence halls to recruit more donors, Nancy Mitchell said.
Students have also been quick to answer the call for blood donors. "We really have a terrific response at Dartmouth," said Tom Byrne, vice chairman of the Upper Valley Chapter of the Red Cross. "I was up there the other day, and the room was full of students -- Dartmouth students are fabulous."
The Red Cross presented the College with a plaque last Wednesday in appreciation of its involvement with blood drives throughout the years.
When the Mitchells step down this year as heads of the blood drive effort, Marilyn Black, the first selectperson of Hanover, will be taking over the position.
"The only reason that I would consider following the Mitchells is that they have left everything in place," Black said. "They are dedicated and have worked hard and will be a hard act to follow."
The only thing that will be different about the next blood drive, in early August, is that the Tucker Foundation will be coordinating Dartmouth volunteers, Black said.