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Lyman teen and pageant queen shines as blood drive host and donor

Lyman teen and pageant queen shines as blood drive host and donor

May 13, 2019 | cBlog, Donor Spotlight, Education, Host Spotlight, News

Hailey Greer shines on and off the pageant stage 

Miss River City Teen turns passion for blood donation into platform, donates blood for the first time on her 16th birthday

16-year-old Hailey Greer spent her sweet sixteen at the Blood Connection Donation Center in Spartanburg, giving back to her community. It’s not what you might expect from a high-schooler, but it’s no surprise for those who know Hailey. Some know her as the current Miss River City Teen or former Miss Powdersville. With a few pageant wins under her belt, she’s now in the running to become Miss South Carolina Teen, where a lot more people with get to know her and what she stands for. Hailey is using her contagious smile to spread the word about blood donation, making it her personal platform for Miss South Carolina.

Hailey started hosting drives when she was just a freshman at Byrnes High School. Her mother’s touching story is what drives Hailey to tell others about the life-saving power of blood donation. Her mother lost about half of her blood volume after Hailey was born. Since Hailey knows blood donations saved her mother’s life, she wants to help do that for others in her community. And when she started asking questions to her friends and family, she realized a lot of people around her have needed blood too. Doing her own research about blood transfusions fueled the fire, and she began encouraging her friends to donate at school. 

“Just telling them [students] how much their blood can help somebody is normally what does it for them. And by giving blood, they feel like they have a purpose.”

Hailey has hosted almost 10 blood drives (and counting) with The Blood Connection, starting way before she was old enough to donate blood herself. Hailey donated for the first time with TBC at the Spartanburg Center on her birthday on May 19th, surrounded by her friends and family. She’s now in the club of local lifesavers!

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TBC is grateful for Hailey’s selfless dedication to her community and passion to serve as a blood drive host. She is truly an inspiration, juggling her school work, dance team practices, preparation for pageants, and learning how to drive, yet still making time to serve her community. Making connections in the community is what TBC is all about. Hailey is the perfect example of a caring connector, who has not only affected the lives of many local blood recipients but their families too. Soon she’ll be able to add “lifesaver” next to the long list of her titles. TBC wishes Hailey the best of luck at the Miss SC Teen pageant! 

WYFF Channel 4 shared Hailey’s beautiful story as part of its Project CommUNITY series. Check it out!

The Spartanburg Donation Center is located at 270 N Grove Medical Park Dr. It’s open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m on the weekends. Blood donors must be healthy, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be 17 years old or 16 with written parental consent. Photo ID required. To reduce donation time, donors can make an appointment in advance.

Check out the TBC High School Program, which awards students like Hailey who are impacting their communities through blood donation and hosting blood drives.

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300th Donation: Danny Howard

300th Donation: Danny Howard

May 3, 2019 | cBlog, Donor Spotlight

Loyal donor gives for the 300th time

Yep, 300 times…that’s dedication. 

The Blood Connection is proud to celebrate Danny Howard as a loyal donor, who donated for the 300th time on May 1st, 2019 at the Woodruff Road Donation Center.  Born and raised in Greenville, SC,  Danny has been giving back to the community he calls home for more than 30 years. He started donating as a high school student (shout out to Greenville High), and the rest is history.

Get this–Danny has donated 37 gallons! That means he’s helped save A LOT of lives! As if that wasn’t enough, Danny has shown his loyalty by giving whatever we needed at the time, from red cells, to plasma, to platelets. He’s a true selfless hero.

“I want to give back to those who need it…it’s just something to give back to the community.” 

It’s that simple, he says, giving back is the right thing to do. Danny is also a proud graduate of Clemson University, where he worked until his recent retirement. Now, he encourages his co-workers, neighbors, and others in his community to give back with him. He’s sharing life in more ways than one.

Danny is the perfect example of a local lifesaver who cares about his community. We’re lucky to have him as a donor in our Upstate community. Way to go Danny! 

NC high school student honored for work with TBC

NC high school student honored for work with TBC

Apr 8, 2019 | cBlog, Events

Temoor Dard Writes Inspiring Letter Encouraging Blood Donation

A Panther Creek High School senior is hoping to bring back a life-saving tradition to the Wake County School System. Temoor Dard is a loyal blood drive host for The Blood Connection, a community blood center in Central and Eastern North Carolina. Dard has impacted hundreds of lives in his community through his hard work with TBC. Before he leaves high school, he’s pushing to make one last change. Dard has asked the Wake County School System to allow blood drives in schools again, so other students can get involved in making a difference too.

In a letter to Wake County School administrators, Dard wrote: “Not only does this community service project impact thousands of lives, it helps bring the community closer together, and inspires others to make a difference in their community. The end goal isn’t just about reaching a numeric goal, but also inspiring students to become active in their communities, whether it is by organizing book drives, growing their own gardens, etc…As a whole, Wake County high schools can save thousands of lives just by hosting blood drives once or twice a year.”

On Saturday April 6th, Dard hosted a high school blood drive with Panther Creek and Green Hope high school students in the Whole Foods parking lot on Arco Street in Cary, NC. The drive collected more than 100 units, saving approximately 300 lives. Before the drive started, Dard was also awarded a scholarship because of his success with TBC, to be used for college expenses (the check was written to The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill).

Dard has been leaving a lasting mark on his community throughout his high school career. He’s been involved with blood drives since he was a freshman at PCHS. Before The Blood Connection became the primary blood supplier for UNC Rex Health Care in 2018, Dard had already hosted four blood drives on his own. His first drive with TBC last year was his most successful, bringing in 120 donations that helped save approximately 350 lives. Since the Wake County Public School System does not allow blood drives in schools, Dard has made it his mission to change that.

Dard’s grandfather is his inspiration for becoming a blood donation advocate. His grandfather had multiple blood transfusions during open heart surgery when Dard was younger. His inspiration couples well with his intense passion to make a difference in his community and to bring people together.

“I want to leave an impact on my community. I want to have a legacy of quantifiable impact. I find satisfaction in helping others and leading projects for the greater good,” Dard told TBC. “The issue of a blood shortage hit close to home, as I knew what it felt like to almost lose a loved on… It’s fun to bring a community together in the act of saving lives.”

TBC is so grateful for Dard’s dedication to his community and willingness to serve as a blood drive host. He is truly an inspiration. He has not only affected the lives of local blood recipients, but their families too. He will surely make an even greater impact as a student at UNC Chapel Hill.  

The Raleigh Donation Center is located at 5925 Glenwood Avenue. It’s open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m on the weekends. Blood donors must be healthy, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be 17 years old or 16 with written parental consent. Photo ID required. To reduce donation time, donors can make an appointment in advance at: https://thebloodconnection.org/

Check out the TBC High School Program, which awards students like Temoor who are impacting their communities through blood donation and hosting blood drives: https://thebloodconnection.org/events/school-programs/high-school-program/

 

Dear Wake County High School Administrators,

My name is Temoor Dard and I am a senior at Panther Creek High School in Wake County. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to direct blood drives ever since I was a freshman up until now. PCHS has been very consistent with the blood drive tradition, and due to our improving success, our partner, the Blood Connection (a blood bank serving the Triangle), has asked us to start this initiative across all high schools in Wake County.

NC is facing a critical blood shortage, and the only way to address this problem is to get more people to donate blood, because blood is one of the few things we can’t artificially manufacture. Every pint of blood saves 3 lives and it only takes 15 minutes to donate.

However, Wake County, as of January 2018, does not allow high schools to have blood drives on campus. Fortunately, PCHS has been very successful in hosting our first ever off campus blood drive last November, and we would like to help other high schools do the same. For some context, the blood drives on campus at PCHS consistently brought in 70-80 people, but our first off-campus blood drive brought in 154, doubling our previous total. That same level of success and more can be emulated throughout Wake County. As a whole, Wake County high schools can save thousands of lives just by hosting blood drives once or twice a year.

Not only does this community service project impact thousands of lives, it helps bring the community closer together, and inspires others to make an difference in their community. The end goal isn’t just about reaching a numeric goal, but also inspiring students to become active in their communities, whether it is by organizing book drives, growing their own gardens, etc. In the end, the option lies up to you to pursue this community service event.

Keep in mind, if you are interested in pursuing this event, the blood drive would most likely be held in April or May, depending on how fast it can be organized. It normally takes a little over a month for PCHS to fully organize their drives. Blood drives are held on the weekend to not interfere with school hours.

I’ve also attached a document below detailing the first steps you should take to start your blood drive initiative at your school. It details everything about points of contact at the Blood Connection, incentives, advertising, registration, set up, and more.

If you have questions or concerns, please let me know and I will help you to the best of my ability. I look forward to working with you!

Thank you,

 

Temoor K. Dard

PCHS Blood Drive Director

Loyal Donor, Hometown Hero

Loyal Donor, Hometown Hero

Mar 26, 2019 | cBlog, Donor Spotlight

Loyal Donor, Hometown Hero

While loyalty may be hard to find these days, The Blood Connection has found a proven loyal friend in Morris Gray, also known as “Mo.” He’s what some may call a super-donor. On March 24th, he donated blood for the 201st time at the TBC Easley Donation Center. For the past eight years, he’s donated consistently twice a month. So far this year, he’s already donated five times, bringing his donation total to 25 gallons! Morris’ donation story started back in 1996, when he gave blood for the first time with a coworker on a spur of the moment. That simple decision changed his life and has since saved countless others’ lives. Morris has certainly earned the ‘super-donor’ title; he can add it to his resume, right next to ‘lifesaver.’

Cancer patients are Morris’ inspiration for giving. He donates in honor of his friends who have battled the disease. He’s thankful to have the type of virus-free blood that cancer patients need, something he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t donated years ago. Knowing his blood has the power to help patients in his hometown is what keeps him coming back. Morris also donates to feel more connected to his community. Since all of the blood TBC collects stays in the community, Morris is giving life to his fellow Upstate neighbors with every donation. He also gives his precious time to spread the word about the importance of giving blood. He’s a big advocate for donating at the TBC Easley Center, his home away from home.

“I enjoy the staff very much and their craziness – the good humor, laughter and the professional, caring attention they give me!”

It’s easy to celebrate a hometown hero like Morris. The Blood Connection is extremely grateful for his giving spirit and big impact he’s made in the community for the past 20 years. TBC hopes Morris’ story will inspire others to join an unstoppable team of loyal donors on a mission to save lives in the Upstate.

TBC Grows Team as Non-Profit Expands

TBC Grows Team as Non-Profit Expands

Mar 18, 2019 | cBlog, Employee Hire

TBC Hires New Community Relations Reps

The Blood Connection (TBC) has added new positions to its staff to help with public awareness and community involvement. This year, the non-profit organization expanded into the Charleston area, growing its reach in the Carolinas.

Karen S. Wyman joins The Blood Connection with over twenty-five years of management experience, the last six as a blood bank Operations Manager.  She will serve as the Regional Operations Manager for the Charleston area. She is originally from Massachusetts, and has called the Lowcountry her home for the last ten years. She has a bachelors degree in communications from Western New England University. Karen enjoys spending time with her husband, Peter and their children Madison, 17 and Alexander, 15. Additionally, she is active in many non-profit organizations across the Lowcountry. 

Allie Van Dyke will serve as the Communications and Public Affairs Media Specialist for TBC. Her role consists of creating public awareness of TBC’s mission, maintaining relationships with donors and community groups, and collaborating with the marketing department to create consistent brand messaging. She will also handle local media requests. Allie brings with her three years of TV news reporting experience. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and two minors in organizational leadership and Spanish. She and her husband are originally from the Atlanta area.

TBC has also added five Community Relations Representatives to serve as the connections between TBC and the Upstate communities. CRRs are responsible for supporting the growth and collections of their donor Centers and help create, plan, and carry out center events. They will regularly attend community events and networking opportunities.

Shunda Jennings handles the Greenwood, SC Donor Center (341 Old Abbeville Highway). Before TBC, she worked as a Workforce Development Manager for SC Works. She is from McCormick, SC. She graduated from Piedmont Technical College in 2005 with an associate degree, then from Ashford University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in organization management and leadership. She has two children, Jaden (13) and Kierra (7).

Janna Buckey is responsible for the Spartanburg Donor Center (270 North Grove Medical Park Drive). She was most recently the Director of Corporate & Foundation Giving at the Peace Center in Greenville. She is from Dayton, Ohio and now lives in Taylors, SC. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Cincinnati. Her husband, John, is a voice over announcer and actor. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.

Monnie Whitson represents the Oconee Donor Center (1308 Sandifer Boulevard). She grew up in Greenville and worked in morning radio for about 30 years before joining TBC. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Winthrop University and a master’s degree in communications and leadership from Gonzaga University. Monnie is also a wedding officiant and “cat mom” to a sweet kitty named June Bug.

Phil Roper covers the Easley Donor Center (5116 Calhoun Memorial Highway). Over the years, he was a part owner of a PODs Upstate Franchise, a realtor, and a business partner for LithoGraphic Services. He is from Greenville and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has two children, not including his family dog, Ellie.

Daniel Levin handles the Greenville Donor Center (435 Woodruff Road). Familiar with the blood banking world, he joins TBC as a former Blood Drive Coordinator for OneBlood. He is from High Park, Illinois, and moved to Greenville in December of 2018 from South Florida. He and his wife have a two-year-old son and a baby on the way.

Florent Lebongo joins TBC as the Community Relations Representative at the Glenwood Donor Center in North Carolina (5925 Glenwood Ave). He used to work in university administration at MIT and Boston College. He mostly recently was the Director of Business Planning and Administration/CFO for Passage Home in Raleigh. He is originally from Yaounde, Cameroon. He has a bachelor’s degree in tax and a master’s degree in management. He is married with six children and six grandchildren.

 The Community Relations Representatives would all love it if you stopped by the centers to say hi!

Educate Yourself: Sickle Cell Disease

Educate Yourself: Sickle Cell Disease

Mar 14, 2019 | cBlog, Education

More about Sickle Cell Disease 

Sickle Cell Disease has many faces. They’re probably ones you see every day. When you give blood, you’re helping someone live another day. That person may have Sickle Cell Disease, a sometimes painful disease that affects oxygen levels in the blood, causing major health problems. In addition to donating blood, educating yourself about SCD could help save someone’s life too.

The Stats

  • SCD is the most common inherited disease.
  • It affects 100,000 Americans a year
  • It affects millions of people worldwide who come from or have ancestors from the Middle East, parts of Africa, South America, Mexico, and India.
  • Hispanics are the second largest population that has SCD, behind African Americans. 
  • 500 people who live and work in Upstate South Carolina are affected with SCD. 

Those stats may surprise you. That’s why it’s especially important to know about the disease and share what you know. The CDC provides this explanation for what happens in patients with Sickle Cell Disease: “Healthy red blood cells are round, and they move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. In someone who has SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle”. The sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. Also, when they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow. This can cause pain and other serious problems such infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke.”

With that being said, sickle cells carry less oxygen and block blood vessels. A blood donation from someone without the disease, can be used to increase oxygen and free blocked blood vessels in a SCD patient. Red blood cells donated by African Americans are the best for SCD patients. Because SCD patients need blood with (and without) specific components, there is a constant need for African American donors. Patients require blood transfusions to prevent organ damage and to decrease pain. Pain is the number one reason SCD patients end up in the hospital. Unfortunately, there is no single best treatment for SCD. Treatment options are different for each person depending on the symptoms. Treatments can include receiving blood transfusions, maintaining a high fluid intake (drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water each day), receiving IV therapy (fluids given into a vein) and medications to help with pain.

Having SCD makes the patient anemic, a fancy word meaning red blood cells die early and not enough are left to carry oxygen throughout the body. Having anemia may make patients feel tired and weak. Infection or enlargement of the spleen, an organ that stores red blood cells, may make anemia worse. Blood transfusions are used to treat severe anemia.

A child gets SCD when he or she receives two sickle cell genes, one from each parent. According to the CDC, more than 95% of newborns with SCD in the U.S. will live to be adults. All newborns should be screened for sickle cell, even if they look healthy. If left undetected and untreated, SCD can lead to severe health problems and even death, early in childhood. People with SCD, especially infants and children, are more likely to experience harmful infections such as flu, meningitis, and hepatitis.

Get tested

It’s important to get tested for SCD. The disease is diagnosed with a simple blood test. Trait testing is free of charge through the Louvenia D. Barksdale Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation. Greenville Healthcare System’s Comprehensive Sickle Cell Disease Program is the first in the Upstate region to provide care for sickle cell patients of all ages under the same roof.

People with sickle cell can do these things to lower their chance of difficulties from the disease:
–  Get regular checkups with their doctor.
–  Follow treatments prescribed by their doctor, such as taking medication called hydroxyurea.
–  Prevent infections by taking simple steps including washing their hands.
–  Practice healthy habits like drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water per day and eating healthy food.

Is there a cure?

Yes, but the procedure can be risky. Permanent treatment requires a bone marrow transplant, or stem cell transplant, a procedure that takes healthy stem cells from a donor and puts them into someone whose bone marrow is not working properly. These healthy stem cells cause the bone marrow to make new healthy cells. Bone marrow or stem cell transplants are very risky, and can have serious side effects, including death. For the transplant to work, the bone marrow must be a close match, which can be hard to find.

How you can help

Reading through this article, you’ve already helped by learning about SCD. People in our community need us. If you’re able to donate blood, especially if you’re African American, please do so as soon as possible. SCD patients are waiting for the right blood products to be treated. TBC helps make the connection between that patient and a blood donor, providing life-saving blood. Because SCD is genetic, there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. As a community, we can help control SCD patients’ symptoms, so they’re not defined by their disease. For the many people who have SCD, that’s a powerful, freeing feeling.