Pocono News Section

Barrett Zimmerman/Blood Drive

Barrett Zimmerman/Blood Drive - Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 10:18PM EST

Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County -

It's the day after Barrett Zimmerman's 16th birthday and she's giving the gift of life.

Barrett Zimmerman, of Huntington Mills says, "Um, I'm kind of nervous. Last night I was excited but now I'm kind of nervous."

Zimmerman is giving blood here at the Wyoming Valley Red Cross chapter in Wilkes-Barre . For the past 5 years, this blood drive has been named after her. Z immerman says she got the idea to host a blood drive because her grandfather died of leukemia. She says donated blood helped him live longer than expected.

Barrett adds, "He was supposed to die 18 months before and I decided I wanted to give someone else the chance to have their grandfather for another 18 months. He was my best friend."

Michael Zimmerman is Barrett’s father and is the Wyoming Valley Red Cross chapter's executive director. He says , "She makes me very proud. Very proud for the reason she's doing it and even aside from that just the fact that she wants to give back to the community. It is just a great feeling as a father."

Barrett says it's all worth it. She hopes more people donate, just like her. "Anybody can give back to the community. I mean I started this five years ago. It's not that hard. It is only an hour of your time."

And Zimmerman's father says she's already making plans to donate again next year.

Blood drives happen every month and for a drive near you contact your local Red Cross chapter.