The waterway along one stretch of Preston Avenue in Pasadena is looking better this week thanks to our Pasadena Neighborhood Donor Center staff! Through the Volunteer Pasadena program, the staff members spent the evening of Friday, May 6 cleaning the waterway. The ladies carpooled to the site after work and split up to quickly and efficiently remove trash from the area. Now that’s community pride!
Check out this great photo from our friends at Pointsmith!
On April 20, the Katy company hosted its third drive with Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, an effort that helped save as many as 114 lives. Pointsmith, a point-of-purchase marketing management company, got involved with hosting blood drives as a result of Vice President Pat Bryant’s longtime commitment to donating blood once a quarter. Now the company has joined ranks of hundreds in our region that are saving lives through quarterly blood drives!
Thanks to Pointsmith for a great blood drive, and for sharing this photo. If your group has blood drive photos that you would like to share with us, send them to your account representative to be posted here on the Commit for Life Blog!
Check out this awesome, HUGE banner that the students at Kingwood Park High School created for their upcoming blood drive! We think this banner is a particularly effective promotional tool because it offers important reminders that will affect the success of their blood drive.
While the act of donating blood is very simple and requires little effort on your part, there are a few things you should do ahead of time to make sure your donation goes as smoothly as possible. Eating a hearty, iron-filled breakfast, drinking plenty of water and getting a good night’s sleep will help you feel strong, and help your body replenish lost fluids faster after donating. In other words, staying up late and grabbing a soda for breakfast on your way to school isn’t going to cut it on blood drive day.
Also, if your iron levels aren’t high enough, you won’t be able to donate that day. A low iron count is the most common reason individuals are deferred from donating, and this is especially true for high school students. By educating their fellow students about the importance of iron-rich foods before blood drive day, the KP blood drive committee is making sure that as many students as possible are eligible to donate on the day of the drive. Whole grain breads, iron-fortified cereal and chicken are all good sources of iron. Click here for a list of even more iron-rich foods.
What has your high school done to promote its blood drives and educate donors? Tell us about it in the comments!
**Please note the Kingwood Park High School blood drive is not open to the general public.
Yesterday, our friends at the Houston Museum of Natural Science held a blood drive, collecting 28 units in honor of Staff Sgt. Timothy Brown, a Marine who was seriously injured in Afghanistan. Brown received a Purple Heart on Feb. 23, personally awarded by President Barack Obama.
Timothy’s mother, Barbara Brown, works at the museum, and this is what she had to say about the outpouring of community support for her son:
“Everyone has so generously offered to help Tim, and your support and prayers have helped tremendously. One tangible thing we could all do is donate blood. Tim has received so many transfusions that his original blood has been replaced by donor blood, and he’ll need more with the continuing surgeries. What we each donate will not go directly to Tim, but will go to help others, just as other donors are helping him.”
We were touched by this eloquent, personal appeal for blood donations. Many people give blood for the first time because someone they know is a recipient, and Barbara’s positive outlook reminds us why it’s important to keep giving freely to help anyone in need.
Look at this awesome photo collage! This came from our friends at the City of Houston Municipal Courts, a Commit for Life group that hosted a blood drive on June 28. Thanks to chairperson Myriam Varela and all who donated or attempted to donate. Groups like you help ensure our blood supply remains strong over the summer months!
Interested in hosting a blood drive at your place of business? Send us an e-mail: hostablooddrive@giveblood.org
The Blood Center East Texas · The Blood Center Brazos Valley
© 2011 Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center · Houston, Texas
