The Red & White Ball was a great success thanks to ball chairs Scott and Elizabeth McMillian and the support of their committee chairs:
Sponsorship: Patrick Rouse
Raffle: Laurie Kaplan and Alli Kustoff
Decorations: Kristen Schneider Boerger, Cindy Schneider and Beverly Carter
Invitations: Meredith Alvarez
Registration: Evita Morin
A special thank-you to all the evening volunteers and especially to those who came early to assist with set -up and stayed late for cleanup.
- 500 guests, donors, sponsors and volunteers
- More than $795,000 raised
- Funds will support 18 of the 32 new blood collection machines AND some much-needed renovations to South Texas Blood & Tissue’s blood storage and delivery facilities.
Husband and father Bryan Byrnes got to the heart of the matter, sharing how blood donations saved his wife Ashley after she experienced delayed postpartum hemorrhage in the weeks following the birth of their son. Texas suffers from a high rate of maternal hemorrhage, a condition where a mother experiences excessive bleeding following childbirth. Ashley needed 27 units of blood and platelets—more than twice her blood volume in transfusions—to save her life.
Following the Byrnes’ story, master of ceremonies and KSAT-TV news anchor Steve Spriester asked the audience to reflect on their own “ah-ha moment,” as he recounted a time the need for blood touched his own family, bringing home for him the importance of blood donation. The remainder of the evening included a live auction, raffle, a lively game of Heads or Tails, and live entertainment by Blind Date.
A special thank you to our diamond sponsor, the Mays Family Foundation, and all our sponsors and special underwriters who helped make the event possible.
Support from this event will enable South Texas Blood & Tissue to collect more units of blood every day and provide blood donors and hospitals with a faster and more efficient experience, saving countless lives for years to come.
