Catherine Briscoe finally decided she was going to do it. She finally built up the courage to donate blood.

In 2008, Briscoe, then a senior, walked into Vestavia Hills High School’s blood drive to learn she was anemic.

“Donating blood can be such a scary thing,” Briscoe said. “When I finally worked up enough courage to do it, I learned I was anemic. I was devastated. I view giving blood as being an unsung hero. Every time you give blood you’re saving lives; it’s such an amazing gift to give.”

After several years of passing bloodmobiles and wishing she could contribute to the cause, Briscoe, a junior majoring in accounting, said she had an epiphany this summer.

“My mother, Mary Beth Briscoe, is the chief financial officer at UAB Hospital.  For years I have seen her organize and work with several blood drives in coordination with the American Red Cross. This summer it just hit me: ‘Hey, if they can do this at UAB, why can’t we do it at UA?’ It’s an idea I had that I just grabbed and ran with,” Briscoe said.

Over the past month, Briscoe has worked with Ryan Sherman, the account manager for the American Red Cross of Tuscaloosa, and University Hospital to bring next week’s Back to School Blood Drive to the University.

“It’s been really cool to work with Catherine and hear her story. There are so many people who are told they can’t donate that afterwards feel like that’s it; there’s nothing else they can do. It’s remarkable that this news stuck with Catherine and got her thinking of different ways to help,” Sherman said.

The blood drive will be held Aug. 30-31 in the Ferguson Ballroom and Sept. 1 at the Student Recreation Center. Briscoe and Sherman are setting their sights high as they “Drive for 5,” by working to collect 500 pints of blood.

“We’ve wanted to do a big blood drive like this for a while. Finally, we’re able to pull it off with the help of the Greek system as well as the student body at UA.  Students at UA and folks at UAB have been very influential in getting this off the ground,” Sherman said.

In order to encourage students to donate, every participant will have the choice of receiving a free round of golf at participating Robert Trent Jones Golf Courses or an American Red Cross T-shirt. In addition, donors will be entered into drawings for several door prizes including an Apple iPad donated by the SUPe Store, a Nintendo Wii donated by American Red Cross, Oakley Sunglass donated by Woods and Water; and gift certificates to numerous local businesses. Also, any greek student who participates will earn one Pan-Hellenic Point for their fraternity or sorority by donating and an additional point for making an appointment online.

“We’re definitely looking to make this an annual event. We want everyone to be involved—greeks and independents. At the end of the day we’re all people and we all need to help our fellow people,” Briscoe said.

To avoid lines and possibly score an extra Pan-Hellenic point, students are encouraged to sign-up online. To make an appointment visit redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code “BAMA.”

“You don’t have to sign-up for an appointment, but it will really help to streamline the whole process if you do. We’re trying to prevent huge crowds from appearing during the peak lunch hour so students don’t miss out on giving due to class times,” Briscoe said.

For those who have never given blood, Sherman advises eating prior to donating and drinking a lot of water. “I don’t know anyone who looks forward to the process, but every time you do it you’re making a huge impact on the lives of up to three people. You’re helping to save the lives of emergency room patients, cancer patients, burn victims and the list can go on and on,” he said.

Though Briscoe has not had the chance to personally donate blood, she offered first timers some advice.

“I was so nervous to go to my first drive, but the main thing for me was I kept thinking that I would be helping to save somebody’s life and while doing that I would get to watch T.V. and relax,” she said. “Giving blood is so much bigger than the small amount of pain you may feel for a minute, and you leave feeling like you’ve done a great thing. You’ll be on top of the world. I really wish I were able to do it.”