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Thioro Ndoye
Struck
English comp II
29, February 2016
The American Red Cross
The definition of a discourse community is a group of people who share a common goal
and have ways of communication about these goals. Discourse communities have six
characteristics that define them. They must share a common goal, mechanism of
intercommunication within the community, use their mechanisms to provide information and
feedback, utilize one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aim, acquire
specific lexis, members with discourse expertise (NCTE). The American Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that provides disaster relief, emergency assistance, and education inside of the
united states. The common goal with the Red Cross is to give aid to those who are in need.
Originally the organization was for disaster relief but over time they have expanded worldwide.
The Red Cross are in about 190 countries they are known for being there in times of need
(American Red Cross).
The services that the red cross provide include Disaster Relief, lifesaving blood, training,
and aid to military families. The red cross show hard work and dedication by helping victims in
almost any kind of disaster. The reason I chose the Red Cross is because when I used to
volunteer with them at blood drives it made me feel like I was giving back to the society and
doing something good. What I predict will happen while I am doing my research is to find just
how much The Red Cross has impacted our society throughout the years.

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I chose to go to a blood drive for my research method and then I proceeded to interview
two donors and one trained members. While I was there I took field notes on everything that
was happenings. I asked one of the members if it would be alright for me to sit in while they
were setting up and during the actual blood drive and I was granted permission for both. While I
was there watching them set up a couple of the members actually came and sat next to me. They
were all very enthusiastic and even tried to convince me a couple of times to take a class and
become certified. The ages of the members varied from high school students to middle aged
people but they were all equally as energetic. The blood drive was taking place in an old high
school gym with about 25 hospital beds that were set up around the gym. They also had an
ambulance waiting outside just in case anything bad were to happen they would be ready.
As the appointments times were getting closer they were practically done setting up with
refreshments ready for the donors. As the drive started donors were given a form to fill out which
asked them about their past sexual activities and where they have travelled to. They ask these
questions in order to confidentially screen them and collect the donations in a safe manner. Once
the donors finished filling out the forms they would then proceed to the first station which was to
make sure that the donor was eligible. To be eligible you have to meet certain height and weight
requirements. They also had to make sure that you were not low on iron. If you were low on iron,
you were not able to donate because having low iron means that there are not enough healthy red
blood cells in the body to carry enough amounts of oxygen to the tissue. If you are not able to
donate because of low iron, you are told to go to your doctor and eat foods that are high in iron.
However, the people that did pass the iron test were told to go drink some water and eat
something from the refreshment area in order to prevent lightheadedness before they started.
This is the time I decided to walk over to the donors and ask them questions. I introduced myself

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and told them about my assignment and they were all willing to participate. I chose to interview
two people, one female and one male. The female was named Kayla, who was a 19-year-old
Caucasian women. I started out the interview asking her a couple of questions about herself to
make her feel a little more comfortable. She was a university student who has been donating at
blood drives since she was about 16 years old.
Me: What made you decide to donate and why do you still do it?
Kayla: I honestly only started to volunteer because all my friends were doing it one day and I just
wanted to fit in at the time. I remember being terrified to death when I saw them pulling out the
huge needles. After that first time I went home and immediately googled where my blood was
going to go to and was not disappointed when I realized that I might have saved an infant's life
that day.
After Kayla was done answering a couple of more questions she was called on to give her
donation. I then proceeded to my next interview who was a 26-year-old African American male.
He greeted me with a large smile and told me to ask him as many questions as possible. His
name was Daniel and he worked at a local law firm while simultaneously working on his PHD.
Me: What made you decide to donate to the Red Cross?
Daniel: The first time I donated my blood to the red cross I was desperate. My little sister who
needed a blood transfusion at the time did not have the same blood type as me so I could not give
her my own. I remember praying to god that day and making a deal with him, I told him I want
to donate my blood to someone who will need in exchange of finding her someone who has her
blood type. I dont know if it was luck or really god saving my baby sister later on that week
with a match donor. The reason why I still donate is because I realized that in between all of this

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I might have also saved someone else's little sister. I will forever be grateful to the Red Cross for
these blood drive, it really takes a kind soul to do things like this with no profit.
After the blood drive was over I still stayed and watch them pack up and get ready to
leave. Before they could go I asked to interview one of the certified members. His name was
Alex a middle aged man who was eager to answer to answer my questions.
Me: Could you just tell me in a few sentence why you chose to be certified with the Red Cross
Alex: I chose to be certified with the red cross because I am a selfish man. I say that I am a
selfish man because I do this so that I can feel good. For me, helping others while they are in
times of need should not be celebrated but rather should be considered something that is normal.
As a human being I cannot sit and watch other human beings suffering when I know that I can
help them. Doing this gives me a feeling inside that makes me feel like for the first time in my
life I am doing something good.
When Alex spoke I saw passion in his eyes something that seems to be in all of the certified
members eyes.
In conclusion The American Red Cross is a discourse community that not only has a clear
common goal but also are a community that the society can rely on when disaster strikes. For my
research I collected evidence by being there and taking field notes and also interviewing people
directly associated with this community. The Red Cross had proven its dedication over the years
by promoting peace and effectively doing things for communities in need. What makes this
discourse community so interesting is that all the members have different reason as to why they
initially joined it but the common goal of wanting to help the community still remains the same.

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Work Cited
"American Red Cross | Help Those Affected by Disasters." American Red Cross. Nap., n.d. Web.
29 Feb. 2016.

"Issue Brief: Discourse Communities." NCTE Comprehensive News. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb.
2016.