New in the Online Store: Donate Points to a Worthwhile Cause
By Julie Peachey
What makes a blood donor so remarkable? In addition to donating their time and making the effort to donate blood, they still ask what more they can do to give back. Veterans of Stanford Blood Center may remember our point donation program from a few years back. We were receiving so many requests from donors wanting to donate their online store points that we decided it was time to respond.
Early in 2012, the option to help support Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) and The Safe Blood Africa Project through point donation became available. The donations came in at lightning speed and within a few months our allotted funds for these programs were maxed out. It turns out blood donors truly are, by nature, some of the most generous folks around!
And now, just in time for the season of giving, the option to donate points is back again. This time to LPCH and, for the first time, the Global Blood Fund. LPCH sees thousands of children with some of the most complicated diseases to treat. It is not uncommon for a child to remain in long-term isolation for many months. Point donations will be used to purchase gift cards for special items for these children during their hospital stay.
When we delivered the gift cards at the end of the previous program, Colette Case, the director of Child and Family Life Services at LPCH, said “Some of our stem cell patients are in isolation for four to six – or even more – months, and it is quite a challenge to make sure they have the crafts, games and other supplies they need to reduce the effects of this long-term isolation on their development. We’re so thankful for the continued support of Stanford Blood Center and its generous donors.”
The Global Blood Fund is a U.S.-based, international development charity that works worldwide to promote and support voluntary blood donation – the foundation of a safe, sufficient blood supply. In Africa, South America and other developing parts of the world, shortage of donated blood kills tens of thousands of people, predominantly children and mothers-in-childbirth. Point donations to the Global Blood Fund will be used towards the charity’s Small Grants program, which supports the recruitment and retention of blood donors.
Visit our online store to view your point total and consider stuffing a stocking with a donation made in a loved one’s name.