We’ re getting a head start on Valentine’s Day by highlighting some of the amazing couples throughout our region who spend some of their quality time together volunteering for the American Red Cross.

Mary Kay and Peter Komarinski have been volunteering with Red Cross Blood Services – Albany Division for more than ten years.  They work with great people. Mary Kay performs clerical work and, during the pandemic, has been able to complete some of it virtually.  She also supports Blood Collections by sorting, counting, and packing incentives such as t-shirts for the blood drives.  If the incentives encourage a few more people to donate blood, then she feels rewarded.  Peter is a Transportation Specialist, delivering blood to hospitals.  These can be scheduled or unscheduled (STAT) deliveries. They can be gratifying experiences. For example, after receiving a STAT blood delivery on New Year’s Day a few years ago, the hospital Blood Bank tech mentioned to Peter that a patient was bleeding badly, and the hospital reserves were running low. The tech really appreciated the prompt delivery to help this patient and keep their blood reserves up.  Both Mary Kay and Peter feel that by volunteering they are giving back to their community.

Sometimes the best jobs do not come with a paycheck.

Join Mark Kay and Peter: Become a volunteer. Your time and talent can make a real difference in people’s lives.