Red Cross volunteer retires after 57 years of service

Be like Cindy.

That’s the message generated by the Red Cross along with warm wishes and immense gratitude for Cindy Anderson’s 57 years service as a a blood drive volunteer.

Anderson, who just celebrated her 90th birthday in January, is retiring as a Blood donor ambassador for the Red Cross. As a volunteer, Anderson helped greet, check in and thank blood donors for giving blood or platelets.

“My husband has been encouraging me to step back for a couple of years,” said Anderson. “It’s finally time.”

Sue Thesenga, regional communications manager for the American Red Cross in the Minnesota and Dakotas region, said Anderson’s last official day of duty was February 21. A celebration with speeches and cake took place at FiftyNorth around 10:30 a.m., before the 12 noon blood drive start.

“Not many people can say they’ve been with an organization for nearly 60 years, but Cindy can,” wrote Thesenga in a Facebook post.

With a background in pediatric nursing, Anderson first found a fit as a nurse volunteer at Red Cross blood drives shortly after moving to Northfield with her husband Don and four children in 1967. As a nurse volunteer, she was responsible for taking donors’ vital statistics like pulse, blood pressure and temperature.

When the Red Cross transitioned this role to a staff position, Anderson began to recruit other volunteers and help organize blood drives.

While her role within the Red Cross may have evolved over the years, one constant remained: the need for blood and volunteers.

“Blood is always needed,” she said. What began as two blood drives a year turned into 16 blood drives at multiple Northfield locations, including Culver’s, the Northfield Ballroom, various churches, and FiftyNorth Senior Center.

The blood drives Cindy has helped organize have undoubtedly been responsible for thousands of blood donations helping countless patients in need of lifesaving blood products.

One of Anderson’s most memorable experiences was meeting a local blood donor whose wife and daughter both relied on monthly infusions that provided antibodies from the blood of healthy donors. “It’s so important. Someone right in our community relies heavily on blood donation every month,” she said.

When Anderson was asked how many blood drives she helped organize and the number of volunteers she’s recruited, she laughed and said, “I don’t want to take the time to figure that out!”

“I’m sure she is recognized as the face of the Red Cross in the Northfield community,” said Thesenga. “Although she’s not sure how many blood drives or how much blood she’s helped collect, I’m sure she can be credited with an astronomical number of lives saved.”

Merilyn Calcutt, a greeter for blood drives at FortyNorth, has worked alongside Anderson for the past 12 years. Calcutt will take over the blood donation drive at that location. “It literally took three people to replace Cindy,” she said.

Sandy Pieri, another Red Cross disaster and blood drive volunteer, agreed with Calcutt. “Cindy will be missed – it took three of us to cover what she did.”

A third replacement, Barb Garbowski, will take over the drives at Culver’s. “Culver’s is a great partner and helps maintain a strong donor base in Northfield because were able to hold blood drives there every month,” said Anderson. “And the ‘pint for a pint’ coupon is such a sweet way to thank the blood donors.”

Barbara Swartwoudt, a blood donor and a long-time friend of Anderson, said aloud what many others were thinking: “We will miss Cindy at the blood drives; she was always pleasant and welcoming.”

Now, with more time on her hands, Anderson said she’ll continue to unpack boxes after moving from a home to a one-bedroom apartment in MillStream Commons. She said she wants to read, do crossword puzzles and spend more time with her four children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandsons.

“I will miss the people,” she said of the hundreds of blood donors she assisted over the years.