An emergency blood drive is being organized by the North Brooklyn Chamber to help the NY Blood Center meet the needs of their patients during an ongoing shortage. The blood drive takes place Sunday, March 17, at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church, (275 N. 8th St.) from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; donors can signup for an appointment here if they can’t make it this Sunday.
The NY Blood Center released a statement explaining that donations have lagged this winter:
Four weeks ago, the New York Blood Center announced a blood emergency because donations had been lagging through the month of January. O- and B- inventories have not recovered. O- is the most needed blood type, transfusable to all other blood types and most urgently needed.
From 1-5pm today at 711 Grand Street, the NY Blood Center Busmobile will be parked and ready for you to help save some lives. Go here to schedule an appointment in advance, or just walk right in to donate!
I spent all of yesterday out and about in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area and the sense of comradery I experienced was inspired, sincere and so special to me.
The blood drive in Williamsburg was the place to be yesterday morning. Seriously, I wasn’t even cool enough to give blood (just kidding, it was an iron related thing).
Then I spent a couple of hours shuttling loads of donations that my roommates and I pulled together. If you were one of the kind neighbors who helped me as all my bags toppled over on my trek to the Greenpoint American Legion (519 Leonard St 718-383-9822), I thank you!
The scene at the legion was so systematic. They were organized and taking in tons of donations, getting them processed and then getting them out to Howard Beach and Broad Channel as quickly as possible. Hours later I ran into Sally one of the women who was volunteering at the legion. As she was telling me they are taking donations though Sunday (11/4) and are really in need of over the counter meds like aspirin, as she started to cry. I think it was a mix of exhaustion, sense of loss for our surrounding neighbors and feeling grateful to the outpouring support from the community.
Not all donations spots are able to move with as much ease as the legion. I passed a sign on the street with a cell # instructing passerby’s to call if they had donations. The dude on the phone had some insightful info.
THE DONATION LOCATIONS NEED HELP DISTRIBUTING. Everyone has been doing an amazing job donating but the drop off locations need help in the next step. If you have access to a car and gas now or in the next couple of weeks, this can be your BIG way to help out.
Soma Fitness (107 south 6th St, South Williamsburg) is in major need of some transportation assistance. They are inundated with donations and need help getting them to Rockaway/Breezy Point, Howard Beach and Staten Island. They are taking donations the entire month of November so they could use help all month! Contact Karolina (718) 387-7662
Later in the evening I received a surprise call from Rob over at Dog Habitat . The animal shelters are full and in the next couple of days there will be waves of dogs dropped off, so there is a great need to get these pups out of the kill shelters. In response to this Rob has processed over 400 foster applications in the past couple of days. After speaking with Rob for five minutes you understand how much rescues mean to him – it was awesome.
My roommates and I feel so lucky to foster Swiss (nicknamed Swizz Beat). If you are interested in adopting fill out the application on the Dog Habitat website.
All of the positive energy I encountered yesterday in the midst of this overwhelming tragic event further solidified my love for Greenpoint.
I just got the best email ever that said, “Thank You For Scheduling An Appointment To Save A Life.”
Since last weekend, New York Blood Center (NYBC) has had to cancel dozens of blood drives and blood supply is reaching a critical level. They’ve estimated the loss of upwards of 10,000 pints because of these cancellations.
All the shopping, parties and holiday madness is in full swing but why not take a minute out of all of it and do something that will make you feel even better than finding the perfect gift for your mother-in-law who hates you anyway.
Williamsburg Community Blood Drive hosted by Williamsburg Church Saturday December 11th, 2010 10am-4pm 231 Ainslie St, Upper Level
