One blood donation can help save the lives of up to three people, according to the American Red Cross website. Members of the First United Methodist Church in Picayune help save lives one pint at a time by hosting blood drives in the community. Every six months, church members hold a drive in order to give back to the community and promote the importance of donating. Their most recent drive, which was held earlier this week, exceeded their goal with 28 people donating blood, said Charles Cason, church member and blood drive coordinator.

“We had 23 appointments, a couple of no shows and several walk-ins. This is a very important community service effort our church does,” Cason said.

Charlotte Odom, a church member since 1965, has donated blood in excess of 120 times in her 82 years of life. A former nurse, Odom began donating when she was a nursing student.

“During the 1950s, nurse cadets came to our school looking for blood donors and that’s when I started donating,” Odom said.

Originally from Nebraska, Odom moved to Picayune with her husband in 1965. That was the year she became involved with the church and became friends with Mary Lea Schaller, who was the driving force behind the church’s blood drive for many years.

While Odom can’t donate blood anymore because of health reasons, she remains actively involved with the church. She teaches Bible study, delivers meals for Christian Care Ministries and volunteers at a local hospice. Even though she can’t donate herself, she remains a huge advocate of donating blood.

“From my experience working at a hospital, you hope you don’t run out of blood because sometimes it can be the difference between life and death,” Odom said.

The church’s blood drive continues to live on through the legacy of Schaller, who was a former nurse and a major driving force behind the blood drives, said Ginny Downs, blood donor and church member.

Downs recounted Schaller’s tireless efforts to make the church’s blood drive what it is today, saying that she was instrumental in helping the church meet their goals during every blood drive. Schaller died in 2009 after serving as a nurse for more than 40 years and volunteering in her community for many years, according to previous Item coverage. Downs said Schaller would wear a red dress at the congregation on Sunday following every blood drive, if the church met their goal.

“If she didn’t have a red dress on, we didn’t meet our goal but we always met our goal,” Downs said.

The church remains united through selfless blood donations, which are needed in the community. According to the American Red Cross website, an estimated 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate but less than 10 percent actually do each year.

Odom said she’s noticed people are less apt to give blood. However, if people begin donating blood at age 17 and donate every 56 days until they reach 76, they would have donated 48 gallons of blood, which could help save more than 1,000 lives, the website stated.

Cason hopes to continue the church’s legacy and host blood drives for many years to come.