Day: May 13, 2024

Thank you to all who donated to Champions fore Charity for a total of $266,150. Contributions over the years have helped The Foundation’s success in multiple areas while growing the Foundation Fund.   

     Previously, the Foundation Fund has helped purchase of onesies for the Born a Hero program, facilitate a donor and recipient meeting and assisted with a grieving family’s expenses to participate in the Donate Life float in the Rose Bowl Parade.  

Recently a request came in from the apheresis center for new fluid warmers which are used for stem cell donor’s comfort during their 4-8 hour donation. The current fluid warmers have been in use since 2009 and were in need of replacement. Thanks to your participation in Champions fore Charity, funds were available to make this possible.  

Thank you to Ginny and Art Bennert and the ladies of the Lantana Garden Club for the beautiful addition to the front of the Donor Pavilion.

The Donor Pavilion is a more-beautiful place thanks to the efforts of two generous directors of the board of The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation.

Ginny and Art Bennert combined their passion for The Foundation with a love of gardening to do something meaningful. They donated six flowerpots, which were handmade in Vietnam and coincidentally are a royal blue color that corresponds with the South Texas Blood & Tissue logo.

Ginny is part of the locally based Lantana Garden Club, which every year selects a location to beautify. When Ginny shared her lifesaving work on the board with her gardening peers, they were delighted to help.

The Lanana Garden Club chose the flowers, which will attract butterflies while being resistant to the harsh Texas climates. Purple fountain grass, golden zinnias, red sage and sweet potato vines were planted and watered.

Within minutes of completion, employees and donors started remarking on its beauty. BioBridge Global CEO Marty Landon and South Texas Blood & Tissue COO Adrienne Mendoza even came by to admire the new foliage.

The gardening will continue to make the area a more welcoming, pleasant experience for donors and employees alike.

For the Bennerts, it is only one of countless things they’ve contributed to The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation’s lifesaving mission. They will be honored with the Chairman’s Award during the 2024 Red & White Ball on Nov. 16 at La Cantera Resort & Spa. The award recognizes those who have made a significant impact on The Foundation’s success

What part of the organization and mission speaks most to you and why?

What strikes us most is the ability for any ordinary citizen to donate blood, bone marrow or stem cells and save the lives of others. It is a modern day miracle. Take the survival rates for leukemia. If it occurred overnight it would be a miracle but the survival rate skyrocketed over 50 years. Being able to tackle these problems while utilizing often discarded treasure like cord blood speaks to us as an opportunity to do so much long-term good at such a fraction of the cost.

We have been known for bringing like-minded people together for a common cause. Sharing the story, the mission and helping shape the story in the community is where we feel we can add value.

What motivates you?

The ability to invest our time, energy and capital early and see the long-term effects on society.

Is there anything about your time on the board you would like to share?

Learning from those before us has given us immense pleasure. Those that have built enduring organizations and platforms that are integral to building a first class city are our mentors and we hope to take the baton and move it forward.