A St. Cloud organization is celebrating 80 years of helping to save local lives.
The St. Cloud Lodge No. 66 I.O.O.F., (Independent Order of the Odd Fellows) is celebrating 80 years of organizing blood drives in Osceola County.
The lodge hosts a blood donation drive on the second Wednesday of every even month — the next is Wednesday, June 14 — at the St. Cloud Community Center (3101 17th St.), from 2-7 p.m.
It was started back in 1943 by the then-mayor of St. Cloud, who was also an Odd Fellows Lodge member, according to current member William "Bill" M. Campbell. The mayor started it to collect blood during World War II, when the need was greatly needed.
"Our organization is about giving back to our community and those in need," Campbell said. "This has been a very successful thing, as it helps provide a ample supply to the local blood supplies."
Why is it so important to give blood?
"There are many benefits for the health of the donors. In the days after a donation, red cells are replaced at an astounding rate,” Campbell said. “Bone marrow has received the message that overall oxygen levels are lower (due to the loss of red cells) and has increased the output of stem cells, which eventually become either red cells, white cells or platelets," Campbell said.
OneBlood is the organization that takes the blood on site. According to OneBlood:
Platelets help stop bleeding in people who have transplant or cardiac surgeries;
One in three people will need a blood transfusion;
A single car accident victim can require 100 pints of blood;
Donors will receive a wellness check while giving blood;
Men who donate at least three times a year drastically reduce their risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
But there is one more incentive to give blood — a steak dinner.
Tables and chairs for the donors are set up inside the community center to have their steak dinner, which normally consists of a cut of steak like ribeye or New York strip, mashed potatoes, seasoned green beans, bread, and some kind of dessert, such as cookies or peaches, Campbell noted.
"This gives the donors the opportunity to socialize with friends and other people within the community, making new friends," he added.
Campbell has been a member of the lodge for about 13 years. His father, who coordinated the blood drive for about 35 years, was a lodge member for around 50 years.
"I was able to see the positive impact that it had on the community and the health benefits for the donors. I think that our lodge being able to continue providing this service to the community is a message that speaks loudly about what the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the members are all about," Campbell said. "I wanted to carry on in my father's footsteps, so I started helping him with the drive a few years before he passed away, and I have been coordinating it since. Our lodge members comes in and help out with whole drive."
The St. Cloud Lodge has been in existence for over 300 years worldwide, and more than 100 years in the U.S.
"The St. Cloud Lodge No. 66 I.O.O.F. gives back to our community as we can, like in the form of donations to various organizations, families, and people. We are providing scholarships to our young people that are finishing high school. We try to do what we can to make the world a better place," Campbell said.
For more information, go to https://www.ioofsc66.com.
