By Dana Maze, American Red Cross

Joan Margolius is a volunteer blood donor ambassador at the American Red Cross Kearny Mesa Blood Donation Center. Her dedication to support the Red Cross mission is inspired by two generations of remarkable women: her mother, Florence Sayles Margolius, and her grandmother, Ray Kauffman Sayles.

In 1945, during World War II, Florence began working for the Red Cross as a hospital staff aide, supporting military members in the South Pacific. She shared her experience in a Red Cross Rochester Chapter newsletter titled, “Around the World with the Men and Girls.”

“My job seems to have been made for me, or vice versa. It consists mainly of talking. And what women doesn’t enjoy that! I make rounds on the wards, offering comfort articles, cigarettes, books, etc... Actually, the furnishing of those articles, although important itself, merely acts as an introduction to the patient...gives me a chance to sit down and chat with the service men...isn’t long before I am listening to his troubles, gripes, philosophy of life, hearing about his home, his family, and admiring pictures... This has been a wonderful experience, and I wouldn’t give up one minute of it for anything in the world. I am seeing new lands, living a new life and seeing G.I. Joe at war --- learning to understand him and to appreciate what he is going through for all of us.”

Florence’s work with the Red Cross left a lasting impact on her. In 1966, she was installed as the chairman and treasurer for the Brighton New York Chapter and remained a volunteer for many years.

While Florence was working for the Red Cross, her mother, Ray, also decided to get involved. In the late 1950s, Ray started volunteering in the canteen at the Rochester Red Cross Blood Donation Center in New York. Every Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m. she provided donors with tea, coffee, boullion and ginger ale and gave out service pins. She volunteered for more than 25 years and even inspired Joan to help out too.

“I occasionally started helping my grandmother at the Red Cross when I was six years old,” said Joan. “In high school, I earned the Red Cross patch. I volunteered doing office work or helping organize materials for the phlebotomist at the Rochester Blood Donation Center.”

Joan went on to support a Red Cross telethon in college and years later, began donating blood. “The Red Cross doesn’t just run in my blood; the Red Cross gets my blood,” said Joan.

After retiring from her career in human resources, Joan returned to the Red Cross as a volunteer blood donor ambassador at the Kearny Mesa Blood Donation Center. In this role, she ensures that all donors have a positive experience from the moment they arrive at the blood donor center to the moment they leave.

“Work with the Red Cross is just part of life,” said Joan when reflecting on her family's involvement in the Red Cross. “The Red Cross gets my blood, my sweat for volunteering, and my tears in monetary donations.”

Joan is proud of her mother and grandmother’s generational legacy and is happy to continue supporting the Red Cross.