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For Becky Rose, involvement is just “in the blood”.
Blood - the fluid that circulates in the principal vascular system of human beings consisting of plasma, in which the red cells, white cells, and platelets are suspended. Blood - all we care about is that we have enough of it. To assure that the public is well supplied, we turn to the Memorial Blood Centers. They have been around since Hubert Humphrey inaugurated them back in 1948. And they have been located at 2304 Park since 1956. Becky Rose, a passionate, comically spunky SJA parishioner has been responsible for bringing the bloodmobile to St. Joan's since 1993.
Having worked in hospitals for 11 years, Becky's first involvement with MBC was as a student. After one year of study, she became a Specialist with Blood Banking in their reference labs. The SBB's job is to find out if a donor's blood is compatible with people who need it. Becky soon became manager of the blood banking school which eventually led to a position as a Strategic Analyst for Project Planning. With 20 years of employment with MBC, Becky's now Director of Training and Education.
SJA's first blood drive (2-11-93) occurred on a Monday evening and only
attracted a scant 19 donors. Switching to masses on Sunday and to two drives
per year, the blood mobile increased its participation to 88 donors. Its
steadily escalated: 2000's blood drive accrued 203 donors and 2001 amassed 237
donations. Becky concluded "Obviously, switching to Sunday masses made it
more convenient for everyone to give blood."
Delightfully fun and spirited, Becky first came to SJA in 1993. What led her to St. Joan's occurred back in the late 1970s. After attending a rather disturbing mass at St. Luke's that pronounced homosexuality as immoral, Becky left the Catholic Church. For over a decade she searched but couldn't find a church that accepted her lesbian lifestyle. A transformation occurred while attending a mass at St. Joan's. "The music is so fantastic. This particular day (it) really got to me. I just started to cry. Tears were streaming down my face and this woman sitting to my left just grabbed my hand and held on. I knew at that moment that this church was right for me." Another close friend said it best for her: "Becky, Joan of Arc is the only church that truly practices what it preaches."
Becky hasn't just brought a lot of blood and a few tears to SJA, but a lot of
sweat as well. She's biked over 500 miles for Tanqueray's Heartland AIDS Ride
in both 2000 and 2001. A cause that holds close to her heart, Becky wasn't
convinced that she could do the ride after turning the big "50" in 2000.
Co-Pastor Jim Cassidy convinced her otherwise. Jim was about to embark on his
fourth ride and had become the fearless leader of Team Oz. He consoled her,
"I'm turning fifty too, and if I can do these rides, so can you." Becky has
signed up for her third Heartland Ride to be held July 22-27, 2002.
Becky's wit, candor, and determination are what make her special. "At my age, doing this ride is a real statement." After slugging down a Pepsi, she addes, "especially since my diet is still so crappie!" To donate blood,
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