News Release January 11, 2007

Bonfils Celebrates National Blood Donor Month with Appreciation Reception
Outstanding donors and volunteers to be recognized Jan. 11

For more information contact:
Julie Scott 303.361.2873
Bonfils Blood Center

DENVER (January 07, 2007) - Bonfils Blood Center held its annual appreciation reception Thursday, Jan. 11 for its multi-gallon blood donors, volunteers, financial benefactors and community partners at INVESCO Field at Mile High. Additionally, donors heard from Patti Kaufmann a local woman who won her fight against lymphoma and took the opportunity to personally thank blood and marrow donors for their life-saving contributions.

Special awards were presented to the following:

• Dr. Ben Galloway Community Partner Award – Rod Smith
  For nine consecutive years, Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Rod Smith has served as spokesman of Drive for Life, signing autographs and sharing his first-hand account of how blood donations help enhance the life of his daughter Vanessa who receives frequent blood transfusions to treat sickle cell disease. Smith’s steadfast commitment helped Bonfils host its most successful Drive for Life in 2006.
• Bonfils Blood Center Foundation Leadership Award – L. William Schmidt Jr.
  Bill Schmidt helped found Bonfils Blood Center Foundation, the fundraising arm of Bonfils Blood Center in 1995. Since that time, Schmidt has served as a foundation trustee, including holding secretary and treasurer positions from 1997 to 1998 and currently serves as vice-chairman. A blood donor and benefactor of Bonfils for many years, Schmidt has encouraged countless others to support Bonfils’ mission of saving and enhancing lives through blood donation and philanthropy.
• Volunteer Liaisons of the Year Award – Ed Abromeit and Denise Day – Wal-Mart
  Blood drive liaisons Ed Abromeit and Denise Day are key to the success of the Wal-Mart – Parker mobile blood drive. Abromeit and Day help promote the drive both in the store and to local businesses resulting in a 40 percent increase of blood donations at the drive compared to 2005. Their dedication and support has contributed to Wal-Mart collecting more than 3,000 units of blood over the past five years.
• Volunteers of the Year Award – Christina Firouztash and Brian Remington
  Blood recipients Christina Firouztash and Brian Remington have participated in Bonfils Blood Center’s volunteer ambassador program for nearly 12 months, sharing their personal stories with the community to convey the importance of blood donation. They have participated in numerous projects that help Bonfils raise awareness including inclusion in the blood center’s advertising campaigns. Firouztash and Remington are also both loyal blood donors.
• Outstanding Blood Drive Growth Award – Sprint – Nextel @ Inverness
  Sprint – Nextel @ Inverness has supported Bonfils Blood Center and the community blood supply since 2002. The organization currently hosts quarterly programs at their businesses in Park Meadows and Inverness. The blood drives have grown steadily over the years culminating in a 404 percent increase in collections from 2005 to 2006.
• Outstanding College Blood Drive Award – University of Denver
  For more than 30 years, the University of Denver has supported Colorado’s community blood supply and continues to increase the number of drives it hosts and units of blood it collects at each drive. In 2006, the University of Denver hosted four blood drives throughout the year – collecting more than 350 units of blood. The school blood drive remains one of Bonfils’ to 40 blood drives.
• Youth Service Award – Castle Rock Young Marines
  The Castle Rock Young Marines adopted Bonfils Blood Center as one of their many service projects in 2006. Their leadership helped recruit nearly 75 blood donors to a blood drive which the group coordinated from start to finish with 38 of those being first- time donors. The Castle Rock Young Marines support has made a significant impact in our community and to patients in need.

Bonfils Blood Center supplies blood to more than 200 healthcare facilities and needs to collect 4,350 blood donations weekly to meet the needs of the community and to be prepared for any unexpected events. For information about scheduling a blood donation, please visit www.bonfils.org or call (303) 363-2300.