Carson Konop wasn’t old enough to donate blood at the first blood drive he participated in, but he still found a way to make a difference.

As a freshman in Eagle, Idaho, Carson joined a club that put on blood drives. By the next year, he was expanding his role with the Red Cross as a donor ambassador, welcoming donors to blood drives and making sure they had a good experience.

“I’ve been able to meet people and be in the hospital seeing how blood donation really does save lives,” he said. “I wasn’t the one able to donate yet, but I could promote how important it was and help in any way I could.”

Carson now serves as a Blood Donor Ambassador Champion, helping volunteers younger than 16 get their start with the Red Cross -- potentially the beginning of a lifetime of involvement. He has seven students involved and hopes to expand the program beyond the region.

He’s become a blood donor himself, too.

“I just donated today,” he said. “Now that I can, I do. It is gratifying that we can save lives this way. I can only imagine what it means to get blood when you need it.” 

Though Carson began by helping with blood drives, he’s expanded his role across other lines of service, including Volunteer Services and Service to the Armed Forces through a Youth Action campaign.

Now Carson, 18, is a senior and looking ahead to college, where he plans to continue involvement with the Red Cross in an expanded role as he steps into adulthood.

“There are almost an overwhelming number of ways to be involved with the Red Cross, but however you want to be involved, you can find something that fits your life and the stage you’re at,” he said.

This summer, Carson received the Dr. Bart Hill Biomed Volunteer Excellence Award, which recognizes a biomedical services volunteer who has shown exceptional performance or service in support of our diverse mission. Dr. Hill, the chief quality officer and associate chief medical officer at St. Luke’s Health System, is a Red Cross board member and former board chair.