Originally published on redcrossyouth.org.
“I drank the Red Cross Kool-Aid and will be a Red Crosser for life.”
Meet Hanna Malak, Regional Donor Services Executive in Rochester, New York. Hanna started out in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA)/ Red Cross Collegiate Leadership Program. After the program, he went back to Menlo College, and founded a Red Cross club, holding several blood drives on campus. Hanna was able to collect 65 units of blood, tripling the number of units collected by the college before his founding of the Red Cross club!
As a part of the Red Cross Collegiate Leadership program, Hanna was able to join the Board of Directors for the Northern California Blood Region. Hanna presented to youth and sat on a few committees, including a Donor Recruitment committee that was focused on holidays and summer vacations. During this time, he worked closely with Red Cross staff to get a list of all blood drives open to the public and spread the word. His approach was especially effective, as the number one reason why people do not donate blood is that they are not asked to do so!
During his college years, Hanna also joined the National Youth Council. He was a part of the Communications Working Group, working on various marketing campaigns and helping develop a new layout for redcrossblood.org. He ultimately served as the Vice Chair before becoming an advisor for the council.
Hanna soon began his career with the Red Cross as an employee in the Donor Recruitment Department. In this position, Hanna was responsible for recruiting new groups to hold blood drives and educating them on the need for blood and the process of donating. He also joined the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program, which helped him grow and explore different lines of service. In the LEAD program, Hanna served for two years as a Fundraiser Officer and an additional two years as a Regional Volunteer Services Officer. Two years later, he joined the Silicon Valley Club Red at his local chapter, which is the young professionals club that helped him stay involved with the Red Cross after graduating college.
National Blood Donor month means a lot to Hanna. Growing up, Hanna’s brother had cancer, and blood is what saved his life. This, along with generosity of the American people, inspires Hanna to serve in the Biomedical Services line of the Red Cross. His favorite aspect of the Red Cross is seeing the great outpour of support of the American public during times of need. Whether it is a disaster or the need for blood, Hanna loves to see people donating their blood, time and money to the Red Cross mission.
With over 10 years of experience in the Red Cross, Hanna has met many blood donors, and the need for blood continues to hit home. He has also observed multiple changes that have taken place in Biomedical Services, one of the most prominent being the willingness of the organization to adopt and use state of the art technology. Mobile applications allow donors to make financial donations and appointments to donate blood easily. Find out more about Red Cross’s mobile applications here. 
Hanna has some words of wisdom to offer our youth of today. He encouragingly says, “continue to touch the mission. Whether you are in a club or volunteering individually, volunteer at blood drives, donate blood when you are of age. Go out to Sound the Alarm events to volunteer.”
Hanna is forever grateful to the Red Cross and the National Youth Council for the opportunities he has gotten to give back to his community, and for being able to make lifelong friends. Thank you, Hanna, for serving as an excellent role model and inspiring youth volunteers!
“Our mission is so powerful – so continue to touch it.”