Vampires weren’t the only ones wanting blood this Halloween.

The American Red Cross joined forces with the Baptist Student Union to host a blood drive for the Joplin community and the Missouri Southern campus. The goals of this drive were more than skin deep.

“For us [the blood drive] is a way of helping people give,” said Jon Smith, director of the BSU. “We’ll probably never know who benefits from this directly, but it benefits us to give, and remembering what Christ did for us.”

Jordan Wendland, sophomore premed major, organized the event by calling the Red Cross, posting fliers across campus and advertising through KOBC, (a Christian radio station) He said his friends Noelle Ott and Eli Spencer helped spread the word through Facebook and posters. Wendland encouraged students to give blood because three lives are saved with every donation.

Andria Corkle, chemistry, Spanish and criminal justice major, was unable to donate at the event because she donated three months ago. However, she still expressed the positive feelings .

“It’s nice to know you’re helping people,” she said.

Aaron Stump, junior English education major, smiled as he laid on a stretcher with his blood draining into a plastic bag.

“I wasn’t scared until I was getting ready to be pricked,” he said.

According to Jill Kimball, the certified medical assistant who took care of Stump, a person can take between five to 15 minutes to donate blood. Stump was a fast bleeder, and yelled across the room to ask Ott if they had any lemonade.

A member of the Red Cross group from Springfield, Rebecca Byrd, the charge nurse, said she loves her job and has been assisting blood donors for nine years. The organization travels across Arkansas, and Byrd said her favorite place is Anderson High School. She said now with parents’ consent, 16-year-olds can donate blood, and the Anderson High School donors made an impression on her.

“Those kids were the best,” she said.

Donors must meet certain physical criteria and have valid identification before donating blood. The donor must weigh at least 110 pounds, have a 38-hemoglobin level (iron) and pass a physical. Then they must answer some background questions and if they are 16 years old, they must supply the parents’ consent.

“Not everyone can give,” Smith said. “The Red Cross is very picky about that kind of thing in a good way. I’m glad they are.”

Smith said he hates to donate blood, but feels a moral obligation.

“If Jesus Christ can sacrifice his life, undergo brutal torture on behalf of me then how can I deny a little blood to somebody else,” he said.

The idea of the BSU Blood Drive was inspired by Mike Fultz, one of Smith’s past students in Indiana. Fultz was born with a defective heart, and without a blood transfusion, he wouldn’t have survived. Later in life, Fultz started a ministry and encouraged blood donation.

“He was a blood-giving machine,” Smith said. “Not only is he intelligent, but he sees a need in the community and wants to meet them. He inspired me.”

Fultz is currently working on his PhD at Indiana University, and Smith performed his wedding ceremony last summer. When Smith came to Joplin he suggested the blood drive idea to his fellow followers and received a willing response.

“It’s just a good way to help people and show God’s love,” Wendland said.

The BSU is a growing organization and is seeing what a few people and a big dream can do.

“Ministry isn’t about the numbers, it’s about the people,” Smith said. “I tell our leadership students that our purpose is to see lives change for the better, and we’re seeing that happen.”