Parishioners of St. Catherine have sought to serve their neighbors since 1979, when the parish was founded. Bishop Vincent Harris sent a young missionary, Father Oliver Johnson, to serve as the parish’s first shepherd. They held their first organizational meeting at St. Ignatius Catholic School and their first Mass at Lakehills Cinema Four, a local movie theater.

Soon, other Christian denominations stepped forward and offered their sanctuaries for St. Catherine to celebrate Mass. On June 11, 1981, the parish pioneers broke ground for a new sanctuary and bid their generous Christian neighbors appreciation and well wishes. On Dec. 6, 1981, the new church building opened its doors to the faithful.

During those early years, Father Johnson received assistance from Father Jerry Smith, Father Jim Chamberlain and a recently ordained Father Daniel Garcia, who is now the bishop of Austin. Other early priests included Father George Tzanakas, Father Dick Hudson Missionary of the Sacred Heart and Father Pat Coakley, who arrived in 2004 and remains the pastor.

That same year, Bishop Gregory Aymond recognized the foresight of the original parishioners. Among their initiatives, the bishop singled out “social ministries and outreach programs” that St. Catherine of Siena developed to serve their parish, neighbors, the city of Austin and brethren in Mexico.

In 1982, the Knights of Columbus Council 8156 was established at St. Catherine of Siena. Twenty years later, the knights, in conjunction with the We Are Blood organization, began hosting blood drives in the parish parking lot. Knight Bob Stuifbergen, who has been part of the effort since the first blood drive, said the initial effort netted 24 units of blood.

Nick Canedo, vice president of Community Engagement at We Are Blood, said the latest blood drive, held on Sept. 20, yielded 19 units, including four first-time donors, bringing the total number of units of blood collected over 22 years to 2,819, which translates to approximately 8,400 lives impacted by local donors.

Among the donors at the September drive was Juan Ontiveros, who joined the Knights of Columbus three years ago. “It's important to pay it forward,” said Ontiveros, who has been a parishioner of St. Catherine for 29 years. His type O negative blood is universal, which means it can be given to other blood types.

Erin Hummel started donating blood when she enrolled in college, took a break while she was raising her four children, and resumed in the last 10 or 15 years. “I just think it's an easy thing for me to do, and I think it helps a lot of people, and you know, I’m happy to help wherever I can. And this is something I can do. I think it is very valuable,” she said.

Canedo said the need for donations has grown dramatically across Central Texas as the population has increased.

“These drives have been consistently successful and impactful all these years, with an average of 21 units collected per blood drive,” he added.

Stuifbergen said as the donor population ages, there is a need to recruit more donors. One source he has successfully brought on board is members of the neighboring Abiding Love Lutheran Church, who has been co-sponsoring the blood drive with St. Catherine of Siena.

Knight Crespin Guzman, who has led the blood drive for three years, is seeking help from younger parishioners.

“I'm trying to get some younger new Knights of Columbus members to sort of hang out with me and see if they can carry it on,” Guzman said.

Other Knights of Columbus councils in the area also host blood drives, and on Martin Luther King Day, the Knights of Peter Claver at Holy Cross Parish in Austin host a blood drive.