You're Making Us Proud Portland.

The Portland Red Cross received an incredible gift to help us celebrate the first day of Red Cross Month!

See the photo to the right? That's not just another cluttered desk - each slip of paper (blurred for privacy) in this massive stack represents a person's commitment to donating blood or platelets, getting trained in CPR/1st Aid, volunteering for disaster relief, providing financial assistance, or a combination of these lifesaving actions.

This overwhelming response came as a result of two recent outreach events in the city. Wow.

To all of you Portlanders who have a long history of supporting us, are just recently commiting to help or are considering that first step in making a difference for those in need, we thank you.

Saving. Giving. Living. Join In.

Miss Oregon 2011 Returns to College for OSU Blood Drive

Miss Oregon 2011 Caroline McGowan, while taking an interim year from college at Oregon State University during her reign, returned to campus on Monday, February 20, 2012 for the first day of the Feb. 20-23 Winter Term Blood Drive, one of four quarterly blood drives coordinated by the incredible OSU Blood Drive Association! (see photo below)

As Miss Oregon, McGowan is the official hostess for the state, running on the platform of the American Red Cross. Watch her KBVR interview below to see how she inspired students and faculty by speaking about the need for blood donors, providing photo opportunities for those in attendance and even posed with Buddy the Blood Drop mascot!

McGowan, a member of Delta Gamma Sorority, began her path to pageantry in the Miss Linn-Benton competition and was crowned Miss Oregon on July 2, 2011 in Seaside, Oregon.

The Winter Term Blood Drive at OSU will be held February 20-23, 2012 with donor hours from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily at the Oregon State University Memorial Union Ballroom. Area students, faculty, alumni and more can give blood, volunteer their time or support the event through a combination of both, like veteran volunteer, blood donor and alumni Byron Womack! (pictured below)

For those interested in the blood drive event, please call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit us online at redcrossblood.org sponsor code OSU. Please contact the Blood Drive Association at osublooddrive@yahoo.com if you are interested in volunteering at the event. Blood donors must be at least 16 years old (16 year-olds require parental consent) and meet minimum height and weight requirements. More information for potential donors is available at redcrossblood.org

We need your Red Cross stories!

For most people, encounters with the Red Cross never go beyond the occasional office blood drive or what they see on the news after a major disaster. It’s hard to explain the people behind the stories, and the very real effect the Red Cross has on those lives, unless you've experienced it yourself.

That’s why we need you. If you've been helped by the Red Cross, in any way, this is your chance to give back by sharing your story of the American Red Cross with a national audience.

Whether you were helped following a house fire or a flood, received a blood donation, were able to give life-saving CPR, were assisted by our Services to the Armed Forces, or are a volunteer remembering a special moment from a disaster deployment, your story is one we want to share.

Tell us how you were helped and what that meant to you. Go to: https://american.redcross.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=ntld_great_stories to find out more.