|
Your Faith Can Save the Day
The Blood Bank of Hawaii is appealing to churches and other faith-based organizations to help maintain an adequate blood supply for Hawaii's patients.
Because the need for blood is never-ending, new Lifesaver Clubs are being sought out to help maintain a steady collection of blood donations throughout the entire week, including Sundays. “Churches in Hawaii have a solid reputation of caring and community-mindedness," said BBH Donor Services Director Aaron Knapp. “By hosting a Sunday blood drive, churches will make it convenient for their members to give the gift of life on site before or after a service. The churches we currently work with are really making a big difference and we’re hoping other churches will include blood donation as part of their community service.”
Central Union Church is just one of several churches that host a blood drive annually. The Blood Bank of Hawaii is appealing to Hawaii’s religious community, asking churches to include blood donation as part of their community service.
The First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu hosts two blood drives annually. Their blood drive committee is comprised mostly of medical professionals that recruit by calling those who donated before and doing sign-ups on Sunday mornings between services on the church lanai, according to blood drive coordinator Pat Taylor. “Holding a drive at the church has been convenient for churchgoers, including some of our Elders who are blood donors,” Taylor said.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Honolulu-West Stake surpassed its 35-pint goal in April with six committee members scheduling donors from each of their meetinghouses. The community relations committee chose to host a blood drive as a service project because it required just one main task—to recruit donors who want to help save lives. The Blood Bank’s goal is to fill every Sunday on the 2005 calendar with churches that commit to sending donors to a Blood Bank site or host a drive at their facilities. If you would like to get your church involved, please email Arron Knapp at aknapp@bbh.org or call 848-4713.
|
