By Nancy Aziz, American Red Cross Volunteer

Doing 200 of anything is kind of a big deal – especially when it’s something you don’t have to do – but something you do simply to help others.

On Monday, Antis Roofing & Waterproofing in Irvine celebrated its 200^th lifesaving deed. It held its 200^th blood drive for the American Red Cross helping ensure when someone needs blood, hospitals have enough. 

Company founder Charles Antis commented on what reaching the milestone meant. “I feel like it's a tangible vibe that everybody can feel, everybody that works here, everybody that walks in that shows and lets us feel what it's like to give back to community by creating this place and by encouraging our people to donate their blood,” he said.

The blood drives have now collected more than 4,700 units of blood since Antis started hosting the drives back during the pandemic. The company stepped in to fill a void left after other large blood drive sites shut their doors. It was largely the idea of company President Susan DeGrassi, who also happens to be on the board of the Red Cross of Orange County.

“She says, we need a place to give blood. We ran forward with it. We had our first blood drive. There were no incidents. We had our second one, and then we realized why not keep doing this? And so, we pushed through the COVID era, and it was really because of Susan's ability to see the future and things that are needed because of her ears, listening at the board meetings, knowing the problem, and being able to see the solution,” Charles Antis said.

After the COVID pandemic, the company kept on hosting blood drives for the Red Cross. They’ve become quite an event, usually complete with music, and burritos from Wahoo’s Fish Taco, through a partnership with the non-profit California Love Drop. At the 200^th blood drive event, Wahoo’s founder Wing Lam was on hand to help cook up meals of fish and chicken tacos with rice and beans, while blood donors dined at tables in the parking lot.

“Even on the regular, not 200th blood drive, when you come here, it's fun, it's noisy, there's always some swag out. People really enjoy themselves and I think it makes that the ease of just contributing something that many of us can do. Not all of us can donate our blood, but many can, and it just makes it feel even better,” said DeGrassi.

But besides the fun, the drives are having a real-world impact. Red Cross of Orange County Chapter Executive Director Becky Firey says Antis is playing an important role.

“Having partners that will open their door to host blood drives is absolutely vital. We cannot manufacture blood and we need a place where we can collect that blood. They make such a welcoming environment for donors that it makes them want to keep coming back to donate more and more, and that's incredible,” said Firey.

And for now, there is no end in sight. Asked how many more blood drives Antis will host, Charles Antis said this: “I mean, honestly now 200 is like, wow, that's (a big) amount, 250 is gonna be good, and someday we'll hit a thousand.”

You can join Antis in ensuring lifesaving blood is available for patients in need. Visit RedCrossBlood.org to make an appointment to donate blood at a donation center or blood drive near you.