You are vital to your community.
32 Years of Volunteering is Time Well Spent for Illinois Man
For 32 years, Alan Miller has spent several hours a week at the Arlington Heights Donation Center. He’s a volunteer who has watched the donation center change over the years, including its name! Alan has donated 4063 hours to Vitalant to date, and he recently received the President's Lifetime Achievement Award!
Alan said his journey with blood banking started as a donor back in high school. He admits that he wasn’t a regular donor back then. That didn’t happen until after he graduated from Triton College in 1982. A few years later, he started volunteering at the donation center, first as a driver. Yes, Alan was responsible for driving units of blood to the hospitals—sometimes the very blood he himself donated! Nowadays, if you visit the Arlington Heights Donation Center, Alan is the first person you’ll likely see. He’s a greeter, and he loves his job! “It’s like the feeling an athlete gets. The big adrenaline. I’m so excited to do something to help other people out. It’s a good feeling,” said Miller.
Alan has been married for 37 years. He has 2 grown kids and a full-time job! So why is he committed to spending several hours every week volunteering? “When you turn on the news, there's always something bad going on,” said Alan. “When you go to the Arlington Heights Donation Center, you’re around people with a good heart. People there want to do good. Not only the employees but also the donors who walk in. They want to help others. They are there, donating blood to save lives.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?"
Alan is a great example of what it looks like to use your individual gifts to help others in your community. Congratulations, Alan, on earning the President's Lifetime Achievement Award!