By Dorothy Evans
On Wednesday, December 4, Weiser held its quarterly American Red Cross blood drive in the Vendome Events Center. 74 of the 93 scheduled donors met their appointment times to give the most precious gift of all, the “gift of life.” Even with seven deferrals, 75 units were collected due to Power Reds that count for two.
We greatly apologize to all our walk-ins who made the effort but were turned away. We always encourage walk-ins because normally about 20% of scheduled appointments are no-shows. Unfortunately, the Red Cross was very short-staffed at this drive so we were told no walk-ins. Chairman Alex Chavarria has been in contact with our Red Cross rep to ensure that this does not happen again. If you were turned away, please try again at our next drive on March 5.
Our bodies are amazing. Here are some fun facts about blood that were listed in the “Tidbits of Treasure Valley.”
- Number of blood cells your body has manufactured in the time it takes to read this sentence: One million
- Number of red blood cells in a single teaspoon of blood: 25 billion
- Number of weeks a red blood cell will live: 16
- Number of trips around the body that red blood cell will make before dying: 150,000
- Number of miles it will travel in that time: 100
Not only are our bodies amazing but so are our donors. Those giving their permission to print their name are: Jason Bair, Larry Lee, Mathias Smith, Rick Haynes, Mary Smith, Sabrina Young, Liz Sousa, Chris McCord, Lucy Ross, Terri Turner, Megan Overgaard, Wil Overgaard, Steve Cooper, Julie Derr, Mary Walker, Dave Jenkins, Daryn Young, Marla Leedy, Ian Ross, Jana Hill, Gilbert Salazar, Aurora Salazar, Connie Hagan, Brian Johnson, Fred Haun, Rhonda Hirata, Sandy Cooper, Laurel Handel, Monica Odoms, Rebekah Tracy, John Tracy, Lupita Rodriguez, Karen (Shorty) Shannon, Pat Sullivan, Mark Christensen, Bob Barber, Jan Mullins, Lorrie Dewyar, Rebecca Hale, Kyle Dickerson, Coleen Grant, Pattie Chandler, JoAnn Karel, David Santo, Barbara Huck, Linda McLaughlin, An’a Verdi, Ralph Graham, Pamela Burris, Sarah Bruce, Tina Frei, Penny Lancaster, Joya Hill, Mary Ann Yamamoto, Denton Odoms, Sandy Michael, Mary Ann Boothe, Julie Sarazin and Molly Jensen.
The blood drive could not happen without the help of all the volunteers. Blood drive chairman, Alex Chavarria, pulled it together by lining up and calling donors. Coordinator Dorothy Evans worked the registration table during the drive and enters future appointments into the database after the drive. First-timer, Mary Green, helped at the registration table. Mary Walker of Nu Masters sorority, and Gay Morinaka-Hayden prepared sandwiches for the donors. Anna Loos, Beverly Attebery and Val Donicht of Xi Nu sorority kept the food tables supplied. Val Donicht prepared a delicious taco soup lunch and Beverly Attebery made her famous chocolate dessert for the volunteers and Red Cross workers. Nu Masters and Xi Nu are members of the Beta Sigma Phi City Council who funds the purchase of the food. We are also grateful to MTE for their generous contribution that pays for supplies and WIFI.
Weiser’s next quarterly blood drive will be held in the Vendome Events Center on Wednesday, March 5, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Please call Dorothy Evans at 208-550-0990 to schedule an appointment or go on the American Red Cross website to reserve your time slot. Your blood may save a life. There’s no better way to spend an hour of your time.
*Archive Photos
