"I have been donating for 30 years…I gave my first donation at age 16 in high school.”
Giving Life, Giving Hope: A Community Unites in Service
January 24, 2026 - Kiersten Bliss
Members of the El Dorado County community came together to donate life – saving blood and non-perishable food for the community JustServe day of service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Members of the community came and donated blood with Vitalant staff providing the manpower. Members of the El Dorado Stake communications team helped with advertising, set up, check in, and clean up.
31 pints of life-saving blood were collected. Some donors made reservations ahead of time. There were 12 walk-ins, but some had to be turned away because of the lengthy wait time from having more donors than originally planned for. (Plans are already being made to accommodate more donors in 2027!)
Nathan Seger was one of three unique donors who came and gave what is called a “Power Red” donation— a concentrated red blood cell donation, which can help twice as many people as a regular blood donation. Nathan explained, “I have been donating for 30 years…I gave my first donation at age 16 in high school.” Not only is Seger a veteran donor—he is also a universal donor, meaning he has O+ blood type which all blood types (all people!) can receive.
This day of service also included a two-day window for collection of non-perishable food. All food donations were given to the Center for Violence-free Relationships. Over seven large crates of food, totaling hundreds of pounds, were collected by generous members of The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints and neighbors. It was a wonderful weekend of service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
