August 2007

'Back to School Inner City' Health Fair

Houston City Council Member Jarvis Johnson hosted the "Back to School Inner City" health fair on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007. The African-Americans Commit for Life team was proud to sponsor a booth at the event, held at Sylvester Turner Park in Acres Homes, as it provided an opportunity to educate the predominantly African-American residents and business owners in the community.
 
The Blood Center established a presence within settings that residents can feel comfortable asking questions related to their health and the blood donation process. 

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Fallbrook Church

The African-Americans Commit for Life team participated in a health fair as part of Fallbrook Church’s Vacation Bible School. The event on July 28 brought a steady flow of attendees to The Blood Center’s booth, giving the team an opportunity to spread awareness of the need for blood donations.

 

 

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July 2007

KSBJ's 'Summer of Love' Blood Drive

As part of the KSBJ fourth annual "Summer of Love" blood drive, Lakewood Church, along with other churches in the community, served as a site where potential donors could Commit for Life.  As a result, the effort collected 64 donations, helping save as many as 192 lives.

NAACP Blood Drive

THe Houston Chapter of the NAACP proudly partnered with The Blood Center to help save lives in July. Sharonda Wright, NAACP's director of Health Advocacy, led the organization's health team to help the African-Americans Commit for Life team actively recruit 14 first-time blood donors, and to educate more than 40 minority individuals on the importance of Commit for Life.

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April 2007

National Minority Health Month

The African-Americans Commit for Life team supports National Minority Health Month by sponsoring a Health and Safety Fair in April, focused on educating Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center employees and providing free health screenings. Organizations represented at the 2007 internal event included the Sickle Cell Association of the Texas Gulf Coast, US Healthworks, Kidney Associates, United Behavioral Health, fitness and health clubs, and a host of other health-related organizations.

International Festival

Team members from African-Americans Commit for Life took the opportunity to spread the word during community and networking events resulting in gains both for the national marrow donor registry and blood donor recruiting efforts.  The International Festival attracted more than 15,000 attendees to the downtown Houston area giving us ample access to spread the word.  For two weekends in a row, the team from the national marrow donor registry and representatives from African-Americans Commit for Life encouraged our neighbors and visitors to join the registry or allow us to contact you at a later date to Commit for Life!  As a result, more than 200 individuals added their names to the NMDP with several requesting follow up on individual donation opportunities or blood drives.

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January 2007

Martin Luther King Silent March

African-Americans Commit for Life team members participated in the Martin Luther King Silent March held on Saturday, January 13, 2007 and educated event participants about the need to donate blood and register with the national marrow donor program.  As a result, 17 blood donations and 12 marrow registrations were collected at this first-time event.  Of greater importance were the number of contacts that the team assimilated for further contact with a goal of scheduling more blood and/or marrow drives from the targeted community.

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