Like many American Red Cross volunteers, Gail Bube started her service as a blood donor. One day, she struck up a conversation with a friendly Blood Donor Ambassador who was volunteering at the drive where Gail was about to donate.

At the time, Gail was a few years from retirement, but she remembers thinking it would be an interesting volunteer opportunity to explore. So when retirement came, she signed up and hasn’t looked back since!

Gail volunteers every Thursday at the West Chester Blood Donation Center, where Red Cross phlebotomists collect whole blood, Power Red donations, platelets and plasma.   

“I just love being part of the Red Cross and love being at the donor center! It’s so full of kind people and good donors,” she shared.

Gail says the center is “like a little family” since many of the platelet donors return regularly and the staff remains pretty much the same.

“You go in and it’s like you’re walking into your own house,” she said. “It’s just so fun to be in one place, to be yourself and get to know all these people really well.”

In her first year, Gail logged over 300 volunteer hours, earning her the 2023 Biomedical Volunteer of the Year Award for Chester County. During the award presentation at the Celebration of Volunteers on Dec. 6, 2023, Gail was commended for her “friendly disposition and excellent customer service, which makes donors feel welcomed and valued.”

“I’m so glad that I found this opportunity,” she said, noting that her favorite part about volunteering is “being with people and doing some good.”

The Red Cross isn’t the only organization that benefits from Gail’s enthusiastic service. She also volunteers every Tuesday in the library of her grandkids’ school, and she helps maintain the food gardens with the Chester County Food Bank.   

Of course, she also continues to donate blood herself nearly every 56 days.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Red Cross, visit redcross.org/volunteertoday.

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PHOTO: Gail Bube (third from left) receives the 2023 Biomedical Volunteer of the Year Award for Chester County during the Celebration of Volunteers on Dec. 6, 2023. She is pictured with Red Cross Regional CEO Jennifer Graham (second from left); Delaware Valley Board of Directors Chair John Susanin (far left) and Philadelphia Board of Directors Chair Larry Pockers (far right). Photo by Bill Thawley/American Red Cross

- Written by Alana Mauger