June 2021 Philanthropy Update
To help patients like Bryan, who required blood transfusions after a traumatic bicycle accident.
SDBB is looking forward to the opening of our new permanent donor center in Point Loma at Liberty Station in July 2021. We are continuing our campaign to raise funds for critical supplies and equipment needed to fully equip this new donor center to help ensure that SDBB has the capacity to meet the needs of our hospital partners. Our temporary Liberty Station Donor Center sees over 600 blood donors each month, impacting nearly 20,000 lives from this location alone!
We are thrilled to announce that one of our dedicated Leadership Circle members, Rebecca Blakely Brown, has graciously offered to match all gifts throughout the month of June, dollar-to-dollar up to $18,000, to complete the funding for one new Trima Accel® Automated Blood Collection System (Trima) for the Liberty Station Donor Center. See below for more information about Rebecca and how to help SDBB meet this matching gift challenge!
June is Men’s Health Awareness Month. Men can improve their health and wellness through preventative care like cancer screenings, regular checkups, getting enough sleep and staying aware of changes in mental health.
Did you know that SDBB …
partners with UC San Diego’s Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute to conduct research studies related to cancer?
helps company R&D teams test new medical devices related to blood products for both clinical and research use?
collaborates with a genetics-based company that developed an assay to screen men for prostate cancer risk?
Innovation is at the heart of SDBB. That’s why we partner with local researchers to advance clinical trials that will help to transform how we treat disease—in addition to our critical healthcare role as a lifesaving blood provider.
Thank you for your tremendous support of SDBB Foundation and enjoy this month’s philanthropy update!
With gratitude,
David Wellis, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Sherry Serio
Vice President of Development
Matching Gift Challenge!
Donate Today and Double Your Impact
Rebecca Blakely Brown
Leadership Circle Member Rebecca Blakely Brown is proud to partner with San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB) to match all gifts throughout the month of June dollar-to-dollar up to $18,000, to complete the funding for one new Trima Accel® Automated Blood Collection System (Trima) for the Liberty Station Donor Center.
Help us fund the fourth essential Trima System for SDBB’s new, permanent Liberty Station Donor Center, opening in July 2021! Your matching gift will help ensure that this new donor center is fully equipped with four new Trima Systems—critical resources still needed for this new donor center to be fully operational. The current, temporary location sees over 600 blood donors each month, impacting nearly 20,000 lives! We rely on your financial support to outfit our newest donor center and help us to better serve the community.
To meet our June 30th deadline, and to support the essential work SDBB does in the community, Ms. Brown is proud to match all gifts dollar-to-dollar up to $18,000. As a blood recipient, former blood donor, and dedicated financial supporter, Ms. Brown believes firsthand in the outstanding work that SDBB does for our local communities and beyond. She believes that others will take this opportunity to make a gift and help SDBB extend its mission of saving lives.
Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion, and one in seven patients who enter a hospital will need blood. Whether it be platelets needed to help a mother fight breast cancer, or plasma to sustain a neighbor with severe burns, or red blood cells to enable patients with severe anemia to live a healthy life, every single blood and financial donation makes a difference. Vital Trima Systems separate whole blood into platelets, plasma, and red blood cells—enabling blood donors to donate the exact blood component needed to meet the current blood supply demand for hospitals.
Join us in our mission by helping to fund a cutting-edge Trima Accel® Automated Blood Collection System. Your matching gift is a great opportunity to show your support. It is the generosity of blood and financial donors, and all our community partners, that makes SDBB a cornerstone of community health in our region and beyond.
“Forty-seven years ago, I needed blood and San Diego Blood Bank saved my life. My mother, Marlynn, also relied on blood donations 19 years ago and we are enjoying our lives together! Thanks to the generosity of blood donors, we live such full lives. Having lived in several other countries, I am permanently deferred from donating blood, however my gifts help to support the needs of the organization. Please consider giving a financial contribution to sustain SDBB and to the heroes who will help to save lives. I am grateful to everyone who gives blood, money, or both!”
— Rebecca Blakely Brown
corporate partnership
SAN DIEGO SELF STORAGE
Partnerships with local San Diego companies is an important part of San Diego Blood Bank Foundation's efforts to support critical resources for blood donations, advance San Diego Blood Bank’s mission, and to fuel collaboration with cutting-edge research organizations to advance health through SDBB’s Cell Therapy and Precision Blood programs.
San Diego Self Storage (SDSS) was a vital part of our recent efforts to raise funds for two new bloodmobiles to strengthen our capacity to provide a safe and robust blood supply to the community. Through their Community Giving Program, SDSS works to strengthen ties to the community and takes pride in giving back to San Diego.
SDSS has been voted one of San Diego's Best for the past six years in the Union Tribune's Best of San Diego Readers' Poll and is looking forward to #7 this year. San Diego Blood Bank supports the efforts of the SDSS family to continue to provide top-notch customer service to the community and is grateful for their partnership of our lifesaving mission.
Voting for San Diego's Best continues through June 10th and to vote for SDSS, visit Sandiegouniontribune.com/sdbest/sdselfstorage.
Please vote for SDSS! Support from you and our corporate partners impacts life!
meet team survivor SEVERINA
Severina (Sevey) has alpha thalassemia major, a severe and life-threatening blood disorder causing hydrops around vital organs. Babies with this specific type of thalassemia usually do not survive past birth. However, with the help of 5 intrauterine transfusions from Dr. Ramen Chmait and his USC Fetal Surgery team as well as high-risk pre-natal care at Kaiser San Diego, she continued to develop and improve and had a successful birth. Now, she has to get blood transfusions at Kaiser San Diego every 3 weeks to stabilize her hemoglobin levels.
Currently, the only known cure for alpha thalassemia major is a bone marrow transplant. However, in addition to this blood condition, Sevey also has liver damage of unknown etiology and has been placed on a liver transplant list. Sevey no longer qualifies for a bone marrow transplant (which is the only cure for alpha thalassemia) so she will continue to need transfusions for life.
Featured Funding Priority
SDBB’s new permanent donor center in point Loma at liberty station
The current, temporary donor center in Point Loma at Liberty Station sees over 600 blood donors each month, impacting nearly 20,000 lives! SDBB needs your support to fund critical resources for the new permanent Liberty Station donor center opening in July 2021.
This month, help us to increase our Leadership Circle and Visionary memberships to help fund the critical resources needed for this new donor center. Along with annual, one-time gifts, donors can also join our Visionary Circle comprised of monthly givers, or our Leadership Circle for supporters giving $1,000 or more each year. Leadership and Visionary Circle members help fund critical equipment such as Trima systems and Hemoflow units that help staff safely collect blood.
With your continued support, we can successfully raise the funds to ensure that this new donor center is fully operational this year.
Will you support SDBB by becoming a Leadership Circle or Visionary Circle member?
Donations can be made in honor of a patient, relative or friend. Build your philanthropic legacy by motivating others to support and further our reach in the community. Your financial gift will help get us up and running so we can continue to save thousands of local lives.
In addition to individual giving opportunities, there are also corporate sponsor and naming opportunities available in connection with the new Liberty Station location. Please contact Sherry Serio, Vice President of Development at sserio@sandiegobloodbank.org or 619-400-8188.
world blood donor day - june 14
World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on June 14 each year to raise awareness for the ongoing need for blood and to thank existing blood donors for their selfless acts.
Blood and blood components are essential to help people survive everyday disasters, crises, and tragedies. They are essential for surgeries, childbirth associated bleeding, patients with traumatic injuries from accidents, cancer treatments, bone marrow transplants, immune-deficiency conditions, and so much more. Every two seconds, someone, somewhere, needs blood. This is why blood donations are essential, and not just when there’s a national disaster or pandemic.
Did you know every voluntary blood donation can save as many as three lives?
SDBB’s goal is to ensure when you go to the hospital and need blood, you never worry or wonder if it is available. We make sure that happens for you. But we can’t do it alone and depend on the altruistic ongoing gift of life from essential blood donors.
On World Blood Donor Day this year, we challenge you to contact San Diego Blood Bank to make two or more appointments to donate blood throughout the remainder of the year. And keep those commitments, as SDBB will keep ours in maintaining ensuring a safe and robust blood supply for all individuals in need.
To schedule an appointment to donate blood visit: SanDiegoBloodBank.org.
Throughout the month of June, donate at any SDBB donation location or mobile drive and get a limited-edition Summer Blood Drive T-shirt (while supplies last).
First time blood donor? Click HERE to see how easy it is to donate!
featured sponsor - sdg&E
San Diego Blood Bank Foundation would like to thank SDG&E for their generous financial donation in support of two Ultra Low Freezers as part of an ACP®215 Automated Cell Processor System. SDG&E’s gift will allow SDBB to strategically store blood reserves as part of our emergency preparedness plan. Strategic blood storage is a technology that allows for freezing, thawing, and washing of red blood cells (RBCs), helps to minimize the risk of bacterial contamination, and increases our flexibility with an extended red blood cell shelf life. SDG&E’s investment in our mission and commitment to the community inspires us to continue the important work that we do for those in need of blood to survive. Thank you for your partnership, SDG&E!
meet foundation team member
cherryl castro-lector, development manager
Cherryl was born in Manila, Philippines and lived there for a year before moving with her family to Guam. After a year, they moved to San Diego and have lived here for over 40 years. She graduated from San Diego State University in 2002 with a BA in Art History and is currently a second year MA candidate at the USD School of Leadership and Education Sciences in the Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program. Cherryl resides in Chula Vista with her husband, Laurence, and their children, Clara and Liam.
After an internship at the San Diego Museum of Art’s Development Department, Cherryl was an Assistant Curator at the Philippine Library and Historical Heritage Museum. She then joined The New Children’s Museum’s four-member Development staff that was responsible for a $25 million capital campaign to build a new museum in downtown San Diego.
The last museum Cherryl worked with was the San Diego Archaeological Center as the Development and Marketing Manager. It was there that she took on more responsibilities in fundraising, in addition to marketing initiatives and community relations. She broadened her network through the San Diego Museum Council as a board member, joined the San Diego County Membership Managers Collaborative, and became a founding member of Museums 4 All, a group of nonprofit practitioners dedicated to providing access and the museum experience to people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds.
After spending 25 years serving arts and culture nonprofits, Cherryl realized it was time for a change and was excited when the opportunity to join SDBB’s Foundation team came along. Cherryl explains, “I was drawn to the lifesaving mission of SDBB and its decades of service to the San Diego community. I am approaching my two-year anniversary at SDBB and every day I learn something new. Working with the incredible financial donors that support SDBB in their lifesaving efforts is a great honor.”
Health and Wellness
june is men’s health month
Photo courtesy of HHS
June is Men’s Health Month, a national observance used to raise awareness about health care for men and focus on encouraging boys, men and their families to practice and implement healthy living decisions, such as exercising and eating healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men in the United States, on average, die 5 years earlier than women and die at higher rates from the three leading causes of death, heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries. During Men’s Health Month, we encourage men to take control of their health, and for families to teach young boys healthy habits throughout childhood.*
For more information, CLICK HERE to visit the Men’s Health Month page at HHS.https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/Content.aspx?ID=10238&lvl=2&lvlid=12
world sickle cell day is june 19
The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) sponsors World Sickle Cell Day on June 19 to raise awareness about sickle cell disease and the challenges that patients and their families face. Use these resources from SCDAA and SiNERGe to shine the light on sickle cell disease. And don’t forget to check out the Healthy People 2030 Blood Disorders objectives to learn about efforts to prevent illness and disability related to blood disorders.*
*Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Team Survivor Selina
21-year-old Selina was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia at two weeks old. Sickle cell is a serious blood disorder, this disorder led to a rare brain disease, as well as a stroke at 10-years-old. Selina gets monthly blood exchanges where they remove some of her sickle cell blood and give her blood from the San Diego Blood Bank at the same time, she’s also on medication as part of her treatment. Selina loves music, she likes playing on the Wii U and she loves spending time with her family.
Shop. Donate. Save lives!
While shopping for gifts or everyday essentials, you can also support the San Diego Blood Bank! Here are a few sites you can use to find those perfect gifts while donating to SDBB to support our life-saving efforts.
Visit smile.amazon.com and sign in with your Amazon.com credentials. Choose SDBB as the charitable organization to receive donation and start shopping! AmazonSmile can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones.
Register and choose San Diego Blood Bank as your charity of choice. Then use their search engine to find what you’re looking for and click through to a retailer's site to make your purchase, part of which will go to SDBB.
iGive: This works almost the same way, but you use a button on various retailers' websites. Go through the iGive.com easy registration process and choose The San Diego Blood Bank Foundation. Your favorite retailers will start supporting SDBB.
Ways to Make a Financial Gift
MONTHLY GIVING — Join our Visionary Circle by making a monthly gift to help sustain SDBB for the next 70 years. Monthly gifts fund SDBB’s annual greatest need.
GIFTS OF STOCK — Did you know San Diego Blood Bank Foundation accepts appreciated gifts of stock with tax benefits for the donor? For more information on how to donate your stock, please contact Sherry Serio, Vice President of Development, at 619-400-8188 or sserio@sdbb.org.
MATCHING GIFTS — Ask your employer if your company has an employee matching program. Double your impact and encourage corporate giving to local nonprofits like SDBB.
COMMUNITY AND DIY FUNDRAISING — Partner with SDBB and fundraise with your company or team or for your birthday with a Facebook fundraiser! Contact Lauren Torres, Development Manager, at ltorres@sdbb.org.
CHANGEUP — Sign up on changeupforcharity.com, choose San Diego Blood Bank and Changeup will round up your purchases and donate the spare change to SDBB.
To learn more about the many ways in which SDBB’s lifesaving work has impacted the health of our community, see our 2019/2020 Impact Report.
HELPFUL LINKS
SUBSCRIBE
Don’t miss out on special events, philanthropy updates, news, announcements and more by joining the Foundation’s mailing list.AMAZON SMILE
Set San Diego Blood Bank as your charity on Amazon.Smile and Amazon gives when you shop!FINANCIAL INFORMATION
View our Tax ID or important financial information.CONTACT FOUNDATION
Send us a note with any questions about SDBB Foundation, ways to make a gift, or how to get involved.
THANK YOU TO OUR TOP SPONSORS
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
In partnership with our community, San Diego Blood Bank Foundation is the fundraising entity that supports critical resources for blood donations, advances San Diego Blood Bank’s critical healthcare role, and fuels collaboration with cutting-edge research and clinical organizations to advance cell therapy and precision medicine.
