It’s a saying, it’s an old joke and it’s often on bumper stickers: Give blood, play rugby.
But this year, for the first time, this university’s women’s rugby team will take that phrase literally.
The club team is hosting a blood drive for Children’s National Health System on Wednesday. Its bloodmobile will sit outside the Benjamin Building from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., taking walk-in donations and appointments that can be made online, and all donors will get free T-shirts.
“Rugby is a pretty physical game, and sometimes you do get a scrape or two,” coach Lance Pruett said. “[Give blood, play rugby] is just an old joke, but I thought we should turn that around and make it something beneficial and help the community. It’s really important for the team to give back.”
With a prompt from their coach, teammates Krista Kirlew and Jessica Jost worked together to make it happen.
“Originally we had wanted to do the For The Kids dance marathon, but unfortunately we couldn’t fit it in our schedule,” said Jost, women’s rugby president. “But we figured this is a great way to still help Children’s National Hospital.”
The executive board that was elected in December made community service part of the team’s growing mission, Jost said. But with games on most weekends, the team had trouble finding a way to give back — until Kirlew reached out to Children’s National and found out its bloodmobile could come to the campus on weekdays.
“We’re really hoping [students] pay attention to it and really give it some thought, because it doesn’t take a lot if you’re healthy and able,” said Kirlew, a senior history major. “It’s lives we’re talking about. I’m hoping Children’s Hospital gets the respect they deserve for the children.”
Pruett is a regular donor for Children’s National, but with this event, he said he hopes his team and the campus can make a large donation.
“Donating blood is something that only costs an hour of my time and is of immense benefit to someone who needs it, especially for children,” he said. “It makes such an enormous difference. It means a lot for me to know that I’ve been able to help them in some way.”
Jost said she hopes the timing of the drive will attract more donors.
“There is so much going on in the first week of school; people are going to be walking around exploring campus, and giving blood is fairly easy to do,” the Central European, Russian and Eurasian studies, and Russian language and literature major said. “So if someone is walking by and they have some time, then that’s perfect. We got someone who might not have necessarily donated before.”
And the more donors, the better, Pruett said. According to Children’s National, 90 percent of people need a blood donation at some point in their lives.
“I’ve never given blood before, so I’m looking to pay it forward, to send Children’s Hospital back with blood to give back to these children,” Kirlew said. “It’s going to be a rewarding experience. I’m looking to do my part … it can only be positive.”
