Upcoming Blood Drive - May 19

On Monday, May 19, Manchester Community Blood Drives will hold Manchester’s May blood drive at St. Mary's Parish Center, from 1pm until 6:45pm. Walk-in donors will be accommodated, but Red Cross prefers donors schedule appointments. Please call Marja Warner at 428-9506 to make your appointment to donate. The goal for this month is 50 pints.

March’s blood drive was held at Emanuel United Church of Christ. It was a success, collecting just 2 pints short of their goal of 46 pints. This means that 132 people will be able to be helped.

Manchester Community Blood Drives keeps The Blood Book, an ongoing history of Manchester's donors. When a person is done donating, they come to the "Juice and Cookie" table. At that time he or she is asked for their donor card. The donor card is used to keep track of how many total pints of blood a single individual has donated. Some donors have multiple cards from donating in different regions. The card or cards are used to determine an individual’s donating history and that number is entered into the book. The book is also where the milestones are noted.

At March’s drive, milestones were reached by some of the donors. Philip Cecoonie and David C. Schultz reached 1 gallon. Jeffrey Schaffer reached 7 gallons. Roger Handy reached 11 gallons. Jennifer Blumenauer reached 13 gallons. And, Ray Kemner reached 16 gallons.

Manchester Community Blood Drives would like to thank all of the frequent donors, occasional donors, and volunteers, and the churches for the use of their facilities. If you have any questions or to make an appointment to donate blood at the May blood drive, call Marja Warner at 428-9506.

Manchester Community Blood Drives started, in 1950s and were originally sponsored by one of the churches after which, the American Legion Auxiliary joined. Currently, the March drive is hosted by Emanuel UCC, the May drive is hosted by the American Legion Auxiliary (held at St. Mary's Parish Center), the July drive is hosted by St. Mary’s, the October drive is hosted by the Manchester United Methodist Church, and the Christmas drive is held at the Parish Center and is staffed with volunteers from all of Manchester.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.