When you walk into a Red Cross blood drive, you see donors rolling up their sleeves, volunteers greeting guests and staff carefully collecting pints of blood. What you don’t often see are the patients whose lives depend on those donations — especially children.

“When you put a face on (a blood drive) it’s just different,” Julie Thueson said. Klarese "Rese" Thueson, an 11-year-old cancer survivor, gave back to a community that saved her life by hosting a Meridian blood drive last month.

The sixth-grader greeted donors and guided them through the process, serving as a walking testament to the power of blood donation.

“She’s laughing because I always cry,” Julie said. Rese stands next to her mother, who is seated in a donor chair -- squeezing a bright red, Red Cross stress ball with the hope of saving the lives of other children battling cancer.“Now, it's more important for me to be here as much as I can,” she said. “Because I can make sure a little person that needed that blood, has needed that several times, gets it.”

Rese, a Centennial Middle School student, also understands the good that comes from setting aside
an hour every eight weeks to roll up a sleeve for someone in need.

“Because I have a chance living, and they helped me a lot,” she said.

Rese and her family collected 41 units of lifesaving blood at her drive. Her efforts remind us that community spirit has the power to impact dozens of lives. Whether you’re 11 or 81, everyone can play a role in making a difference.