News Release October 13, 2008
Contact:
Julie Scott
303.361.2873
Bonfils Blood Center
Help Stop Hunger and Save Lives this November
Community invited to join National Marrow Donor Registry with
non-perishable food donation
DENVER (Oct. 13, 2008) – November is National Marrow Awareness Month. Bonfils Blood Center’s Colorado Marrow Donor Program, Food Bank of the Rockies and Community Food Share offer two ways to provide hope to families in need. Bring a non-perishable food item to any Bonfils blood collection site during the month of November and register to become a potential life-saving blood stem cell or marrow donor for patients suffering from blood-related diseases like leukemia and lymphoma by joining the National Marrow Donor Registry. Collected canned goods will be donated throughout the month to Food Bank of the Rockies and Community Food Share to help less fortunate families during the upcoming holidays.
Healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 may join the registry at any of Bonfils community donor centers or mobile blood drives. To register, potential donors will complete a health history and consent form and will provide a blood sample for initial testing. Visit www.bonfils.orgor call 303.363.2300 for donor center and blood drive hours and locations.
Food drives are essential to Food Bank of the Rockies’ mission of Fighting Hunger and Feeding Hope. To the nearly 400,000 people in the areas served by Food Bank of the Rockies, hunger knows no season. Food Bank of the Rockies strives to create a place for everyone at the table. In addition, Community Food Share, which supports Boulder and Broomfield counties, serves millions of nutritious meals to people in need every year. Canned goods and dry goods such as tuna, soups, vegetables, fruit, pasta, rice, instant potatoes, peanut butter and condiments make ideal donations for food drives.
Each year, thousands of people in the United States are diagnosed with diseases for which a blood stem cell or marrow transplant could be a cure. Approximately 70 percent of patients are unable to find a donor match within their family. Ethnically diverse patients have the greatest difficulty finding a suitable unrelated donor therefore, recruiting new and ethnically diverse stem cell donors is key to the ongoing success of the program.
The CMDP seeks volunteers interested in coordinating ethnic-focused marrow registration drives at their churches, schools, businesses or other community organizations. For more information about joining the registry or coordinating a drive, please call 303.363.2345.
About Bonfils Blood Center
Bonfils Blood Center celebrates 65 years of saving lives through its ongoing stewardship of the community blood supply and the instrumental role it continues to play in the lives of patients in need throughout Colorado and beyond. Bonfils Blood Center supplies blood to more than 200 healthcare facilities and needs to collect more than 4,000 blood donations weekly to meet the needs of the community and to be prepared for any unexpected events. For information about Bonfils Blood Center please call 303.366.2000 or visit www.bonfils.org.
About Food Bank of the Rockies
Food Bank of the Rockies, a non-profit organization, distributed nearly 25 million pounds of food last year through over 700 partner agencies. Those agencies administer more than 1,000 hunger-relief programs in Northern Colorado, including Metro Denver, and the entire state of Wyoming. Of the 312,000 people served annually, 45% are children. Food Bank of the Rockies’ key programs are Fighting Hunger Feeding Hope, Denver’s Table Food Rescue and FBR’s Nutrition Network. Food Bank of the Rockies is a member of Feeding America™. For additional information, please visit www.foodbankrockies.org.
About Community Food Share
Community Food Share exists to ensure that people in Boulder and Broomfield counties are food secure. The need in our community for food assistance is great. There are over 45,000 people in Boulder and Broomfield counties living in poverty, and 10,000 children enrolled in the School Free Lunch program in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts. Now in our 27th year of service, Community Food Share distributes food to those in need through a network of 63 human service Member Agencies and several Direct Service programs. All food is distributed free of charge. In 2007, over 4.5 million meals, consistent with the Food Guide Pyramid, were distributed, representing a one million meal increase over 2006. www.communityfoodshare.org.
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