This year’s Red & White Ball themed The Heart of the Matter is only 5 short months away. Thank you to Elizabeth and Scott McMillian and their committees for a strong start and putting The Foundation on the road to meet this year’s ambitious goal of $500,000 with a reach goal of $750,000.
Funds raised from this year’s event will help meet the rising demand for blood by helping to replace recently discontinued collection equipment and upgrade blood storage and delivery facilities that have not been updated in 15 years. The incoming blood collection devices offer an array of benefits that will not only improve the donor experience with shorter donation times but also help get blood to patients in need faster through real time data and a paperless system.
Adrienne Mendoza, Chief Operating Officer of South Texas Blood & Tissue, explained the new devices are more portable and easy to use as well as 12% faster in blood collection. Setup and labeling is 67% faster and uses one kit and lot number saving time and resources while also being capable of collecting multiple blood components from a single donor with a smaller, more comfortable needle.
Time in the lab for processing is also saved as the red cells that are collected are already leukocyte reduced, meaning the white cells have been removed and there is no further processing required for that collection type. Once testing comes back, the blood is labeled and ready to go out to patients in need.
How can you help?
- Join a committee – Email Foundation@biobridgeglobal.org your interest or reach out directly to the committee chair
- Look at the emailed Sponsorship List and let Sponsorship Chair Patrick Rouse know if you would like to assist in an ask you have a connection with or provide background info that could be helpful in making the ask
- Donate Southwest Airline Points toward a raffle package
- Donate wine for the wine raffle between now and Friday, September 15. Wine can be delivered to The Foundation offices or picked up by a raffle committee member
2022 Red & White Ball Chairs and Committee members
Elizabeth and Scott McMillian
Sponsorship Committee
Chair – Patrick Rouse
Kate Aldrich
Jeanne Bennett
Morgan Bertram
Alan Gretzinger
Jack Hawthorne
Rich Reynolds
Adam Wetherell
Lisa Willbanks
Decorations
Co-Chairs – Kristen Boerger and Cindy Schneider
Valerie Finch
Jenny Holshouser
Invitations
Chair – Elizabeth McMillian
Meredith Alvarez
Mary Brook
Raffle
Co-Chairs – Laurie Kaplan and Alli Kustoff
Ginny Bennert
Lilly Gretzinger
Carly Hawthorne
Emily Reynolds
Claire Rouse
Rose Urbancyzk
Lisa Willbanks
Registration
Chair – Evita Morin
