Recruiting Lots of Blood Donors Means Cash for Charities
LEXINGTON, Ky. – One generous Kentucky business and 41 Kentucky charities worked together in May to support a nonprofit Kentucky blood bank and the patients and medical facilities it serves. Six of those charities will be recognized this week for their efforts.
S&S Tire will award $15,000 to the Kentucky nonprofits that recruited the most blood donors for Kentucky Blood Center during the third annual S&S Tire Blood Donor Charity Challenge. The presentation will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 23 at KBC’s Beaumont Donor Center in Lexington.
The winners from the Lexington, Pikeville and Somerset regions will receive $3,500 while the runners up in each area will be given $1,500 each.
This is the third year that S&S Tire, which has 13 retail stores in Central Kentucky, nine distribution centers in eight states and employs more than 500 people, has sponsored Charity Challenge. More than 980 people registered to give blood in the name of a charity, resulting in more than 840 blood products. Charity Challenge helps KBC ensure a good blood supply heading into summer, when blood collections can typically dip.
The 2010 winning charities and runner ups in the three regions are:
Lexington Region
1st Hospice of the Bluegrass
2nd Scott County Family Resource Center
Pikeville Region
1st Big Sandy Area Child Advocacy Center
2nd HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America)
Somerset Region
1st Casey County Relay for Life
2nd Andy Adkins Memorial Scholarship Fund
“We are incredibly grateful to S&S for giving us the opportunity to help one another with donations of time, blood and money,” said William S. Reed, KBC president and CEO. “And it’s especially rewarding to see other nonprofits helping to support our life-saving mission.”
About Kentucky Blood Center
The Kentucky Blood Center, serving more than half of Kentucky’s counties, is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring a safe, adequate blood supply for patients at nearly 70 Kentucky hospitals and clinics. KBC relies on volunteers to collect 400 units of blood per day to meet area patients’ needs. Over the last year KBC distributed nearly 130,000 units of blood and blood products.