On Wednesday, May 3rd Mila and Faisal Khan once again graciously opened their beautiful home to host the Red & White Ball kickoff. The event was well attended and included a performance by Musical Bridges and exciting updates on this year’s cause and plans.
Mary Uhlig began her remarks by officially unveiling this year’s cause, the replacement of eight blood services vehicles essential for blood collection and delivery. Vans and box trucks are essential to our operations as they are used to transport staff, equipment, and blood to and from mobile drives across the region, and vans are used to deliver blood to more than 100 hospitals and clinics in 48 counties. Mary also spoke on the importance of our efforts this year as The Foundation has been touched by personal stories from several of our own directors and their families’ recent experiences with cancer.
Last year, longtime director and previous Foundation Chair David Schneider’s unexpected cancer diagnosis hit close to home. The legacy he left behind is nothing short of remarkable as was he.
Mary thanked Delaine Mathieu for continuing to be an advocate for blood donation while sharing her daughter Layla’s current battle with leukemia, noting how their first-hand story is inspiring people to roll up their sleeve and donate.
In 2021 Brandi and Ryan Morkovsky shared their daughter Amy’s story of her battle with Leukemia. This year, her family is looking forward to the moment she can ring the bell to signify she is cancer free.
Ball chairs Erin Schulz and Kristen Boerger thanked and recognized everyone who is supporting this year’s event including committee chairs Brittany Zars, Carly Hawthorne, Scott Nathan, Adam Wetherell, and Meredith Alvarez and those contributing by serving on committees.
Erin and Kristen also announced a strong start to fundraising efforts totaling $180,740 and their plan to bring an element of friendly competition to continue this trajectory and reach our $530,000 goal. Asks have gone out to community leaders to be champions for our cause. The individual who raises the most will receive the Champion award the night of The Red & White Ball.
Our first champions are:
- Diana Rendon is a native of San Antonio with deep connections to the local community. Diana works for Wasserman Events as a Manager of Finance and Accounting which hosts the Valero Texas Open each year, the oldest professional golf tournament to have been held in the same city. The Valero Texas Open supports the Champions Fore Charity initiative which benefits local nonprofit organizations including The Blood and Tissue Center Foundation. Diana has been a supporter of the foundation for years with direct personal connections based on family members who have been the recipients of blood donations.
- Jason Rice is a respected community leader in the financial services industry, currently supporting local families and small businesses through his role as a financial advisor at Wells Fargo. Jason is personally connected to The Foundation through friends and business partners and is passionate about serving the local community in South Texas.
- Myra Arthur is a local news anchor who covers KSAT News at 6:00 and KSAT Explains. Myra is passionate about San Antonio and sharing its stories and will partner with us as a Champion this year to tell stories to her viewers about local patients and how the important work of The Blood and Tissue Center Foundation makes a difference in their lives.
- Stephanie Guerra is a Latina creative services consultant and local social media influencer who founded her small business Puro Pinche in 2010 to celebrate and uplift authentic Latinx culture. Her social media channels share need-to-know information about culture and events happening to its audience of over 60,000.
Champions will kick off their campaigns in the coming weeks. If you would like to assist in a champion’s efforts or serve on any ball committee, please email foundation@biobridgeglobal.org.
