“It Makes My Heart Happy”: How Pam Jones Gives Back to Her Community—One Unit at a Time

By Lubna Albadawi

Pam Jones is the kind of person who makes you feel welcome the moment you meet her. She lives in Red Oak, Iowa, where her days are often filled with yardwork, exercise classes at the Y and taking care of her four-year-old grandson. “I like to stay active,” she says. “Babysitting him keeps me on my toes.”

Pam Jones with her grandson

But if you ask Jones what really makes her heart happy, the answer is simple: giving blood—and helping others do the same.

“I started donating blood in my first year of teaching,” she recalls. “There wasn’t anything that happened to push me toward it. I just wanted to help.”

Jones spent 37 years as a physical education teacher in Griswold, Iowa. She loved her job so much, she says it never felt like work. After retiring in 2009, she didn’t slow down. When a former student invited her to help with the Red Cross Bloodmobile in Red Oak, she stepped right in. Not long after, Jones took over as coordinator and has been organizing local drives every two months for over 12 years.

“I really enjoy it,” she says. “It gives me purpose. And after so many years, I’ve built strong friendships with the people who come in to donate. We talk, we share stories. We’ve become a little family.”

That sense of community is at the heart of why Jones keeps showing up.

“We even hosted a couple of blood drives in honor of specific donors or their family members,” she explains. “One was for the daughter of a close friend. People showed up just for her. Knowing that we were helping someone directly in our town—that meant a lot.”

Jones reached a major personal milestone herself: 24 gallons of donated blood. But she’s the first to shift the focus to others.

“There’s another woman who just hit her 24 gallons, too,” Jones shares. “She has all her pins mounted on a board. She started giving when her dad was sick, then her daughter got sick too. Watching people hit those milestones—it’s really special. You can see the pride in their faces.”

That’s what Jones finds most rewarding—those little moments of pride, connection and care.

“I’ve learned that people are incredibly generous when given the chance,” she says. “And I’ve learned how much I love organizing something that helps so many people. It makes my heart happy.”

Even when she couldn’t donate—after a recent fall down the stairs left her with fractured ribs—she still showed up to help.

“It upset me that I couldn’t give,” she admits. “But I was there anyway. I just love being part of it.”

Jones worries that not enough people realize how much of a difference blood donation can make. “Our town has around 7,000 people,” she says. “But sometimes we only get 50 or 60 donors. I think we can do better. I just wish more people would take it seriously.”

To make giving easier, Jones even created an email system to remind people about upcoming drives. “The coordinator before me used to send out 200 postcards,” she laughs. “I thought, there’s got to be a better way!”

For first-time donors who feel nervous, Jones offers empathy—and experience.

“I was nervous too,” she says. “But now I tell people: it’s just a little pinprick. And I’ll sit and talk to you while you donate—just to take your mind off it.”

She especially loves when the Red Cross emails donors afterward to tell them where their blood went.

“That makes it real,” she says. “You realize your blood helped someone. That’s powerful.”

Jones still organizes every drive in Red Oak. Every two months. Rain or shine. “It gives me joy,” she says. “And as long as I can, I’ll keep doing it.”

Because for Jones, giving blood is more than just an act of kindness. It’s a way of living—a way of staying connected, staying active, and staying true to what matters most.

“It’s simple,” she says with a smile. “It makes my heart happy.”

Visit redcrossblood.org, and learn now you can make a difference today.