Kaywyn J. Beswick, R.N./Morrison Community ARC Blood Program Team Leader submitted this report.
The first Morrison, IL, Community American Red Cross Blood Drive of 2023 was held on Thursday, January 19, at St. Mary Catholic Church, 13320 Garden Plain Road. Thank you, Father Zimodro and the St. Mary parish family, for providing the facilities rent-free, to use every-other-month to host our six, annual blood drives. Appreciation goes to Ebenezer Reformed Church ladies, who sponsored the canteen; we are very grateful for you taking over one of the drive’s sponsorship. Welcome aboard; you are creating one of the biggest reasons that donors come back time after time: the good food! Wonderful ladies who purchased, prepared, and baked, and bagged up sandwiches and cookies, for the donors to enjoy, were Deb Adolph, Maisie Renkes, Joan Zuidema, Sharon Appel, Jane Haan, and Mary Vos. Gratitude for Terry and Ruth Hoehn from the Knights of Columbus who came to clear the church hall the evening before the blood drive, and to Terry for returning at the end of the drive to put everything back into its place. You are very dependable helpers. I am very thankful for my two ARC Certified Volunteers who tend the registration desk, keep the food trays stocked, help schedule donors with future appointments, and assist wherever I need them. They are Pat Pendgraft and Irma Russell. Thank you, ladies, for being the smiles at the door greeting donors and for all your expertise. Also, thank you, to Dan Runions, for post-escorting (assisting donors from loungers to chairs for water and food) during the first half of the Blood Drive; I appreciate your beneficial service!
This drive was special. Two visitors came to gift our local Red Cross with a very generous monetary blessing. One of our faithful Double Red Cell/Power Reds donors, James “Opie” Shirk, from Erie, IL, passed away unexpectedly last August. Jim had donated two weeks before his death. He was an O+, giving his 45th unit, in the middle of his 5th gallon. Jim’s widow, Teah Shirk, at left below, and his mother, Dar Campbell, brought us a check for $1610, from Jim’s Visitation pecuniary bestowal tributes. The monies will be given directly back to the Morrison donors who sat beside Jim on the loungers, giving of their time and treasured blood products, and saving lives. Words cannot even begin to express my sincerest gratitude and thankfulness to the Shirk family and friends, who thought of us. This kindness will never be forgotten, and neither will Jim Shirk. We are so very blessed!
The terrific double red cell/Power Red donors who gave two units of packed RBCs were Dave Boyles, Jason Hook, Tom Rosenbalm, Dick Wieneke, Niki Strohmayer, Mike Sweeney, and three gentlemen who did not want their names published. The awesome whole blood donors who came in to donate a unit–to save up to three lives–were Bryan Vogel, Kevin Hook, Barb Imel, Lyle Bush, Jackie Damhoff, Vaughn Maxfield, Liz Moshure, Randy Kuehl, Stephen Sippel, Lisa Nice, Deb Adolph, Lori Ploenzke, Kaywyn Beswick, Tammy Pruis, Michael Britt, Philip Olt IV, Mark Demetroff, Ann Ganger, Trish Kingery, Bill Anderson, Chris Hawkins, Keith Morgan, Eric Larson, Pam Shank, Stuart Lehr, Larry Tichler, Debra Knapp, Nancy Shank, Brad Bielema, Kelsie Lowery, Carolyn Aiken, Sheila Sonberg, Larry Sonberg, Keith Wiersema, Jason Prowant, Beth Wroble, Robyn Stewart, Ken Stewart, Tabitha Lindsay, Kelly Smith, Susan Gomez, Connie Swanson-DeSpain, Brooke Newman, Sarah Bull, and six gentlemen who did not want their names published. There were only five deferrals, which is not bad for a winter blood drive.
Four donors reached gallon milestones. Larry Tichler and another gentleman (who did not want his name printed) attained one-gallon pins; Dick Wieneke reached nine gallons; Bill Anderson achieved 12-gallon status. These four people have helped 534 lives!
There will be a special American Red Cross Month challenge during the March blood drive. My goal is to see how many new donors we can bring in, as well as possibly a contest between some highly respected individuals in our community, to see which department can donate the most units. I am waiting to hear back from the new Chief. Stay tuned for more to come about that.
Several blood drives around the Country were cancelled this winter, due to inclement weather. The need for blood is great, but the effort is easy. This reminds me of the Bible verse, Matthew 9: 37-38, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His fields.”
The March Blood Drive will be held on Thursday, March 16, from noon to 6:00 p.m., at St. Mary Catholic Church Hall, 13320 Garden Plain Road. It will be sponsored by Bethesda Lutheran Church. Bring your spouse, sibling, coworker, neighbor, friend, or any other family member; the more, the merrier! We have several couples who donate blood together. Maybe we will have a prize for one of the couples who come to donate.
Please consider making a donation in March. Commit to becoming “a Regular,” a faithful and dependable blood donor, if you have donated in the past. Everyone knows someone who has had a blood transfusion. Weren’t you grateful to the generous people who made blood available for your special person?
Donating takes less than an hour, requires a brief medical history, vital signs, and finger-prick blood test, resting on a lounger while giving life-saving blood products, enjoying great music and good conversation, and the rewarding experience of helping to save up-to-three lives! It is one of our civic duties in the “six pillars of character,” under the citizenship category, helping us make our community, Country, and world a better place. Resolving to donate blood six times this year is a lot easier resolution than exercising or losing weight.
Currently, there are 15 whole blood appointments and eight double red cell/Power Red appointments available on March 16. Call or message me on Facebook Messenger or my cell number 815-718-5117 for a time slot. Or go online at www.redcross.org. Come join us! You will never regret becoming a hero.