‘Royal Blood’ drive raises spirits

By Erica Terrini
News Editor

The “Royal Blood” drive Wednesday attracted students looking to donate to a good cause and for some it was an opportunity to support the 2010 Homecoming Committee and compete for $500.
The blood drive, which was held in the University Student Commons, was hosted by the 2010 Homecoming Committee and Virginia Blood Services. During spirit week, teams of up to 11 students will compete for the cash prize by accumulating points from participating in events.
Meghan Veroneau, a senior marketing major and spirit chair for the Homecoming Committee, said she had been in contact with VBS since August to organize the event.
“We’ve done (the blood drive) every year,” Veroneau said. “We wanted to keep with the tradition because it’s donating to a great cause and it’s getting a lot of people involved.”
Debbie Alley, the clinical instructor for VBS, said she has participated in multiple blood drives at VCU and that they can obtain anywhere from 80 to 200 units of blood.
The donated blood goes to the local hospitals of Richmond, Alley said.
Other volunteers included students serving on the 2010 Homecoming Court. Riken Kumar, a senior biology major and homecoming court candidate, said part of the duties for candidates include getting students involved in spirit week events.
“It’s a really cool experience,” Kumar said. “We’re all rivals but we’re all together at the same time because we’re all coming together for some common good like donating blood.”