January 24, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

CHCA Blood Drive committee
by Martha B. Sharkey

The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton. With its overall goal to relieve and prevent suffering, the Red Cross continues to evolve and expand its services. In addition to disaster relief, this organization offers community services for those in need, support for military families, educational programs promoting health and safety and international development programs. Of course, the Red Cross is also responsible for the collection, processing and distribution of much needed lifesaving blood and blood products (www.redcross.org).

Each year the Chestnut Hill Community Association organizes a Blood Drive in cooperation with the Penn-Jersey Region of the American Red Cross. While other local organizations, such as Chestnut Hill College, Chestnut Hill Hospital and Chestnut Hill Academy, host these events as well, the CHCA offers another opportunity for local residents to give.

According to Janine Kroculick, account manager for the Penn-Jersey Region, “Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. The Red Cross needs at least 1200 blood donations daily.”

Through the Red Cross, donors are permitted to give blood every 56 days, up to six times a year. The Penn-Jersey Region supports over 125 local hospitals with 2,000 blood products on a daily basis.

A team of dedicated volunteers organizes and executes the Blood Drive for the CHCA. Calling to schedule donation appointments, facility planning with church officials, hanging posters, distributing flyers, collecting food donations from local businesses and signing in donors are just a few of the opportunities available to volunteer with this specific committee.

The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields has provided the facility for this event for a number of years. Many generous local merchants, including The Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop, A Taste of Philly and Baker Street Bread Company, offer gourmet refreshments for the blood donors.