Whether volunteering at a local animal shelter, mentoring underprivileged youth or hosting a fundraiser for a charity of choice, everyone gives back in their own way. For Nicole Erby, a budget analyst in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology in the Department of Medicine, her favorite way to give back is by giving blood.
“It’s a great feeling when I leave,” says Erby, who was hooked after donating for the first time in February 2014. “I feel like it’s just a positive place to be, surrounded by people who are doing
good.”
She especially enjoys finding out exactly where her blood goes to help someone in need, a benefit provided by the American Red Cross to all donors. Most of the time, her blood has gone somewhere local, so the eight-year Baltimore resident feels like she’s directly helping patients in her community, one pint of blood at a time.
In between preparing budgets and documents for grant submissions, Erby helps spread the word about upcoming blood drives by putting up posters throughout her department, emailing reminders to co-workers and occasionally bringing a friend to donate with her. In fact, that’s how she got recruited in the first place.
Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. After only her second blood donation, she entered a raffle for donors and won tickets to an Orioles game. She was recognized on the field with the team’s mascot as the Orioles Blood Donor of the Game. Most recently, she was invited to become a member of the East Baltimore campus blood drive committee, where she will continue to help spread the word about the importance of being a hero by giving blood.
The next blood drive is Monday, Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center, room 2140. Visit redcrossblood.org/ give to register for an appointment.