OK, first, thanks so much for Bountiful as I am in Nauvoo withdrawal. sorry but true.
Has anyone here ever sponsored a blood drive? If so, how did it go.
I am seriously contemplating organizing a community blood drive for a certain reason and until I can get more info from the red cross, I am interested in hearing any lessons learned from blood drives with which you may have assisted.
I found some links on organizing these blood drives and the steps of planning, etc.
Any idea of typical numbers of donors? I am hoping for something that would yield at least a couple hundred donors but have no idea what is the norm. If this works out the way I hope, it would be at a local high school during the summer.
The Red Cross ought to be able to give you an estimate for typical blood drives in the area you are looking at. I fear that 200 donors is a unrealistic goal, at least for a one day drive. In my stake in Utah County, during 5 hour period they average 70-80 units (donors). That's a high number, compared to locations in surrounding states (Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho), according to the lady who stuck me last.
Anyway... that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.
Our stake relief society had a blood drive in connection with a service project at the stake center.
The sisters were told to come give blood and serve and to bring their husbands and send them home after they had given blood.
I think they got about 80 to 100 pints... I couldn't give because I had been to outback Mexico.
M
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
Thanks Bok and Mahonri. Bok, I know what you mean, maybe it is unrealsitic, I don't know. I have never done anything like this before. However, I want to get as many donors as possible, if it works out. Because of the emotion in the reason, I think I could get a lot of donors.
Basically I got this idea tonight during dinner, right now I am in the process of seeing if it would be acceptable. I want to organize this in honor of Leslie Sherman, one of the VT shooting victims, as well as the other victims. If her family is opposed to this idea for some resason, (and I don't want to offend them), then I would maybe just do this in the names of all the victims and not single her out. I know it seems kind of like a weird idea, but it is one of those things when you get an idea to do something and the idea won't go away.
Here is the specific paragraph that impacted this decision: "Leslie Sherman ran a marathon. She met one of her idols, historian David McCullough. She traveled to Argentina and Ecuador. She marched with civil rights activists in Alabama. She rebuilt homes in New Orleans, donated blood regularly and cut off her hair to donate to children in need of wigs."
By no means would this event compensate for what happened, not even the tiniest iota of a drop of blood to do what Leslie would have done had she been able to continue her life and to continue to donate blood and other good things she did. But I thought it would be something to sort of "vicarious donation" to "make up" for the blood that this young lady would have continued to donate, etc. Obviously not so much for the blood it self but for her committment to service and helping her fellow human beings. Likewise for all the victims. Anyway, I just want to try to get approval from her family and am trying to see about doing this before progressing w/this. Nita
no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
We have a blood drive twice a year in the Stake Center. It's a good way to get people who aren't members of the church to enter the building and the blood drive people love it, because they're garanteed a certain number of members will donate. Here in the Puget Sound they're desperate for blood.
The whole system here is portable, and they have multiple foldout tables and such, all you have to do is provide the people and perhaps set up some chairs.
--Ray
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)