Honor Students from UA Business School Help Increase Blood Donations

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — “The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.”

So says the American Red Cross in its efforts to encourage more Americans to give blood. To that end, the Tuscaloosa Red Cross called on business honors students at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce to come up with ways to increase blood donations within the UA community.

The students, under the direction of Dr. James Cashman, professor of management, split into two groups, each charged with coming up with a marketing plan that would bring more blood donations. The group whose plan was chosen would receive $5,000 from the Red Cross as the project’s budget.

“Each of the groups had its own ideas on how to increase blood donations,” said Brittany Stephenson, a junior quantitative finance major from Huntsville. However, members of the two groups decided they would be more effective as one and joined forces on the project.

“The people at the Red Cross said we both had good ideas,” Stephenson said, so the two groups combined the ideas into one marketing plan.

Ryan Sherman, Red Cross account manager for the Tuscaloosa area, said the Red Cross “set up a competition of sorts, but both teams did such a good job that we asked them to set up two blood drives. They had about two weeks to set the first one up and came through with flying colors.”

The demographic target for the blood drives was the University students, faculty and staff. Stephenson said 180 prospective donors showed up to give blood, which resulted in 143 units of blood donated. Sherman said the students also took over an existing blood drive and doubled participation from 70 to 140. “They did a fantastic job,” he said.

Stephenson said a key aspect of the plan was sustainability, making sure that the plan will result in increased blood donations as the need increases. To help make sure that happens, the group plans to call on the Student Government Association blood drive committee for its help in making sure the blood drives are successful.

“Tuscaloosa is an important area because Red Cross has taken on the responsibility to supply DCH Regional Medical Center.  We hope to build on what this group has done and establish blood drives that will be annual events and increase our visibility,” Sherman said. “They have done a lot of ground work to make the Red Cross the go-to organization for blood drives on campus.”

“We created fliers to raise awareness of the blood drive, and we ramped the whole effort up to appeal to students,” Stephenson said. “We tapped into the emotional appeal and raffled off electronic items at the blood mobile.” Donors were eligible to have their names drawn for PlayStation 3 video game stations and spa packages.

The group also created a Facebook entry called “Bama Bleeds Crimson.”

“Hey guys,” the group says on Facebook. “We’re trying to stir up support for the American Red Cross at the University of Alabama! As part of a project for the business college, we’re trying to create a sustainable program to make the Red Cross the primary donation service on campus, collect more units of blood, compete with other SEC donations, and possibly organize an annual 2 day event complete with music, food and free Bama gear …  Please join this group, we really need to show that we can gather the support of as many students as we can. Even if the prospect of giving blood scares you, everyone can agree that the American Red Cross is an international symbol of community service and a proper addition to campus life here at UA.”

Carter Slappey of Birmingham, who is majoring in finance, said the project taught him “a lot about dealing with a local business, meeting goals and the value of teamwork.”

“I had no idea how important it is to give blood,” Stephenson said. “You can save up to three lives with one donation.”