Editor’s Note: In commemoration of Red Cross Month and Women’s History Month, we are publishing a series of #LeadLikeClara profiles featuring local women volunteer leaders who emulate the leadership characteristics of Red Cross founder Clara Barton.

Carla Venditti first volunteered for the American Red Cross at the age of 18 when she became a water safety instructor and taught little kids how to swim during her off hours as a receptionist at the YWCA.

After retiring from 25 years in the tech industry she returned to volunteering for the Red Cross.

“You can't sit still when you retire,” she said.

After donating blood one day she sat down at the blood drive and asked someone there a simple question, “You need help?” That was in 2004 and she’s been a volunteer ever since.

Carla donates blood every 56 days and will soon have donated a staggering 23 gallons. She knows how the blood donation process works as a donor, and in her volunteer role she works as a blood donor ambassador and the scheduler of volunteers for blood drives in Bucks County.

She makes herself available “24/7 – because they call me all hours of the day, emails all hours – every day of the week – to say whether they're canceling out of a blood drive or they want to sign up for a blood drive.”

Blood drives need volunteers to successfully operate and Carla takes pride in making sure the volunteers get to staff their favorite drives.

“I plug their names in. Even when they don't see it – their names are going into blood drives because it's their favorite one and they want to go back. The donors love seeing the same volunteers, because they remember their names.”

There’s an art and finesse to coordinating so many different schedules and she’s dedicated to keeping her team happy and successful.

“They're all really good people that work for the Red Cross.” She said, “I really love my team. They know I look after them.”

She also makes sure volunteers know how important being a blood donor ambassador really is. Blood donor ambassadors greet donors, make sure they are properly registered and keep the refreshments stocked.

“You're greeting people and making them feel like they're a million bucks for doing what they're doing. That's important because nobody has to give blood. You can't reproduce blood. They've tried. You cannot create blood. So, we are all needed to help other people.”

If you are thinking of volunteering for the Red Cross, Carla wants you to know, “It's an enjoyable experience. You get to meet a lot of people, and you get to learn a lot of stuff. You learn so much from being a volunteer.”

For more information on how to become a volunteer go to redcross.org/volunteertoday.

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- Written by Jenny Farley