FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Jane Jennings

--Story by Deepa Bharath; photo by ??

There is something special about the American Red Cross that has drawn

the interest of Jane Jennings for more than a quarter-century.

The 79-year-old Newport Beach resident has been a volunteer at the

organization’s Fountain Valley office for 26 years and is still going

strong.

Jennings has worked at the blood-donor registration desk and the

canteen for hundreds of hours, helping people sign up to donate blood and

providing them with information.

“It’s a no-brainer, but somebody’s got to do it,” she said with a

laugh.

Jennings said she never has worked full time but always has enjoyed

volunteering.

Years ago, the Red Cross was looking for people, so she became a

volunteer -- as simple as that, Jennings said.

The volunteer work has brought her a lot of happiness and

satisfaction, Jennings said.

“You always get more than what you put in,” she said. “I feel like

I’ve done something worthwhile.”

Jennings said she sincerely believes in the value of donating blood.

“A mere pint of blood can save up to four lives,” she said. Jennings

said she used to donate blood herself every year until recently, when she

stopped for health reasons.

Today, she cannot drive. Her husband or a neighbor drives her to

Fountain Valley.

“I can’t do many things I used to do before,” she said. “This

[volunteer work] is something I still can do.”

It’s something she has found interesting too.

“I love to meet people,” Jennings said. “And I [get] to meet a lot of

wonderful and interesting people.”

The office where she works also has a skin tissue bank, a process that

Jennings said “simply boggles the mind.”

“I’d see them bring the tissue in little Styrofoam boxes,” she said.

“I’d think, ‘Wow! Somebody died and somebody else is going to live.”’