For a good cause

Bryce Alderton

Jim Hicks is one of those people who always has to be on the move,

whether it be visiting garage sales on the weekends or donating his time

at the Fountain Valley Blood Center of the American Red Cross.

It is the latter, which he really loves to do.

“[The Red Cross] needs the help and I enjoy it,” Hicks said, clad in

his navy blue Red Cross uniform as he relaxed in the living room of his

mobile home in Huntington Beach, which he shares with his wife Beverly.

The 73-year-old began volunteering with the Red Cross in 1981, and has

been actively involved ever since.

“It gets me out of the house and Beverly doesn’t get bored with me,”

he added laughing.

Hicks volunteers in blood services from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every

Wednesday at the Fountain Valley Blood Center.

He handles blood donor registration forms, and on rare occasions

monitors donors’ faces after they give blood -- giving them cookies,

water, juice, a cup of coffee, while talking to them and making sure they

don’t faint.

But he handles registration 98% of the time.

On a normal Wednesday, about 65 donors walk through the doors of the

Fountain Valley office to give blood. But Sept. 12 was no ordinary

Wednesday.

The day following the hijacking of four airliners, two of which

crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon

and another into a rural area of Pennsylvania, Hicks saw about 600 donors

come to the center to give blood.

Unfortunately the center couldn’t accommodate all of the donors, but

most were cooperative and patient.

“The donors’ attitude was wonderful,” Hicks said. “One person waited

seven hours to give blood.”

Hicks was the only regular Red Cross volunteer at the office that

Wednesday, but about 15 “emergent volunteers” showed up for the day

offering to give blood, or help out in any way they could.

He worked for 12 hours, keeping the donors in line, making sure each

person received the proper forms to fill out and making sure everyone was

accounted for.

“I went in early, to make things easier for the nurses,” Hicks said.

The nurses take the blood from the donors at the Red Cross.

Hicks has given blood 268 times over the years, but said he doesn’t

give blood that often anymore because his veins have too much scar

tissue.

But he might give it another go in the next couple of weeks to help

the injured victims in New York, even with the need tapering off.

“I’m on call for those people that have received my platelets and need

them again,” Hicks said.

Hicks hopes more people continue giving blood in the weeks to come,

showing the same desire to help all people who need it, as the injured

victims in New York have.

“I hope we can carry that on,” Hicks said.

* BRYCE ALDERTON is the news assistant. He can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at bryce.alderton@latimes.com