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Honoring Our Fallen Soldiers

Honoring Our Fallen Soldiers

May 22, 2019 | All News and Views, Events, News

TBC Honors Our Community’s Fallen Soldiers

In recognition of Memorial Day, The Blood Connection is honoring fallen soldiers with a commemorative 4-day blood drive. TBC remembers those selfless heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to serve and protect this great nation. As an organization whose main mission is to save lives, TBC thanks those brave men and women for their service. 

To honor the fallen and their families, The Blood Connection has teamed up with the Wounded Warrior Project. For every center donor from May 24-27, TBC will give $10 to the Wounded Warriors Fund. The organization gives back to injured warriors, caregivers, and family members, helping bring independence back to the nation’s most severely wounded veterans.

Donors will also be able to dedicate an American Flag pinwheel to a loved one. The pinwheels will be displayed on the center’s lawn in remembrance. This will be a beautiful picture of our community honoring those who lost their lives for our freedom.

 

Quoted above is Kenneth Greene. He donates regularly with TBC in memory of his father, an army veteran. There are countless local heroes to thank and remember this Memorial Day. TBC is giving community members the chance to show their appreciation through blood donation. While the sacrifice of donating blood comes nowhere near to the sacrifice fallen soldiers have made, it’s a sincere action of an appreciative community. Not only does the blood donation help save local lives, the monetary donation goes towards a better life for a veteran. What better way to honor a life lost than with the act of saving one?

Donors can make an appointment online or visit any TBC Center to support fallen soldiers. Each blood donation has the power to save up to three lives. Together as a community, help show these local heroes and their families that we support them too.

When donors give local with The Blood Connection, it stays local. TBC is the primary blood provider for local hospitals, which means when anyone there needs blood, TBC supplies it. While trauma is the most obvious reason for blood usage, cancer patients are usually the number one recipients of blood products. Donations are also needed for burn victims, premature infants, surgeries, and those with blood disorders, to name a few. When community members share blood, healing happens, and families remain whole. 

Blood donors must be healthy, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be 17 years old or 16 with written parental consent. Our centers are open Monday-Friday 7am-7pm and Saturday-Sunday from 7am-5pm. Click here to make an appointment or to call a specific center.

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Featured Artist: Cindy Hammond

Featured Artist: Cindy Hammond

May 20, 2019 | All News and Views, Events, Featured Artist, News

Featured Artist: Cindy Hammond

My interest in Art began at an early age with my mother and grandmother crafting, knitting, sewing, and expressing their creativity in many ways.  My interest in 2-D art began in high school and further developed in college as a Studio Arts major concentrating in Drawing and Design.

After graduation, I worked as a designer and then entered the field of graphics.  Taking time out to raise my family, I didn’t re-ignite my love for Art until the early 2000’s admiring the works of many painters.  First, working in watercolors, years later, I then moved to oils and acrylics.  Today, I primarily work in oils and love the texture, color, and values achieved in the richly pigmented paints.  I consider myself self taught in painting and continue to take workshops to further my techniques, skill, and knowledge of painting.  I have worked with many seasoned artists throughout my journey.  To name a few, Mary Segars, Jacki Newell, Alice Williams, Gary Bodner, Jeff Erikson, Mark Bettis, Leslie Saeta, and Sandra Roper.  They all have inspired me in different ways and I feel fortunate to have studied with these exceptional artists.

I am a contemporary oil painter working in both experimental and representational themes.  I create abstracts in an oil and cold wax medium lending itself to a freer form of art, focusing on, form, color, line, texture, markings, and movement.  When I paint traditional oils, I like a loose brushstroke, creating soft edges, harmonious color, simplicity, and a painterly style.  I like to work from photographs and use a limited palette to maintain harmony in the painting.

I hope you enjoy viewing my art as much as I enjoy creating it.  All of the art are original pieces created in my studio located in Fountain Inn, SC at 301 Farmwood Drive, Fountain Inn, SC  29644.

I can be reached at 864-270-5063 and via email at clhammond@charter.net or cindyhammondfineart@gmail.com.

NC high school student honored for work with TBC

NC high school student honored for work with TBC

Apr 8, 2019 | Events, News

United Way Fall Festival
Temoor receives check
United Way Fall Festival
United Way Fall Festival

Temoor Dard awarded scholarship 

Wake County High School Student 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 $500 scholarship because of his success with TBC. 

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

Lifesaver League: Meet Us at the Mound

Lifesaver League: Meet Us at the Mound

Mar 7, 2019 | Events

Meet Us At The Mound

Take me out to the ball game! If The Blood Connection was around back when baseball started, it’d be “take me out to the blood drive.” But it’s too late to change it now…

We get really fired up when baseball season comes back around. It’s the time honored tradition that American families have adored for decades. And it’s our time to ask our communities to step up to the plate, and donate blood.

The Lifesaver League is a partnership with local baseball teams in the areas we serve. It all started about ten years ago with the Greenville Drive. We hit it out of the park so much that when TBC expanded into North Carolina, we pitched the idea to the Asheville Tourists and Durham Bulls. Boom, Lifesaver League was born. These teams really are in a league of their own; a league that represents the true sense of teamwork to bring someone home. Not to home base…home to their family. One blood donation has the power to do that for three people.

In the same way baseball fans have a sense of camaraderie every game, TBC’s mission is to engage the community to donate blood and save lives. Teaming up with these teams has truly been a home run. Baseball fans get the chance to become donors and life savers, impacting people in their communities. We need more Allstar players on our team. You in?

We are excited to bring some changes to this year’s blood drives. Each team will host at least two blood drives at the team’s field, hence the Meet Us at the Mound campaign. The Drive will be at Fluor Field, The Tourists at McCormick Field, and the Bulls at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. We’re also getting our heads in the game by hosting drives on game days. Donors will get to meet their favorite players and walk away with baseball some swag.

So let’s talk about that swag. Each division has its own seal. Donors will get a shirt and a hat. We have some other giveaways up our sleeve at certain locations (cough cough, we mean tickets to the game).

We want you in our dugout. This year, donate at any Lifesaver League Blood Drive at the fields or at any of our centers, and you’ll be part of the Lifesaver League. Our mission is so important that we can’t strike out. A batter gets three chances before he’s out. Sometimes patients only have one chance to live another day. That chance could come from a loyal donor.

If you’d like to root root root for the home team with us, we’ll meet you at the mound. Catch us outside, how bat that?

Greenville Drive: 

  • Friday, April 12th 12:00-8:00pm
  • Tuesday, June 11th 11am-8pm
  • Sunday, July 21st 1-6pm
  • Thursday, August 8th 11am-7pm

Asheville Tourists:

  • Thursday, May 16th 10:30am-3pm
  • Thursday, July 25th 10:30am-3pm

Durham Bulls:

  • Saturday, June 1st 1:30-6:30pm
  • Saturday, July 27th 1:30-6:30pm

 

The game’s tied. Bottom of the ninth. Bases loaded. Two strikes. You’re up to bat. Hey batter batter, swing!