March 2021 Philanthropy Update
As we adjusted and adapted to the challenges 2020 brought, we recognized the need to expand our reach in the community to provide additional critical blood resources to save more lives. To ensure we meet the blood supply needs of our community and hospital partners, SDBB is opening two new permanent donor centers in Point Loma and South San Diego communities. With the opening of these two locations, we will be able to serve new regions and increase the average blood donations received each month from our donors.
Each person saved by a blood donation has a future made possible by your financial support. SDBB’s monthly giving program, the Visionary Circle is convenient and an affordable way to provide steady funding for our lifesaving services. Please consider helping SDBB reach our goal of 70 new monthly financial donors by March 30th. Join today and enjoy episode one of our new webinar series Connect to Life featuring Greg Shepard, managing partner of BOSS Capital. For more information, click HERE.
Thank you for helping to fuel San Diego Blood Bank’s mission to ensure that patients in need have access to a robust and safe blood supply. Your support truly impacts life!
With gratitude,
David Wellis, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Sherry Serio
Vice President of Development
march is national nutrition month
National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits.
During National Nutrition Month and beyond, choose nutrient-rich foods that represent the five basic food groups. Use these tips to get started: https://sm.eatright.org/nutrichdiet.*
Planning ahead may help relieve mealtime stress. Follow these steps to plan for and prepare nutritious and delicious meals that fit your preferences and lifestyle: https://sm.eatright.org/mealplanning.*
Knowing culinary techniques can help you bring out the flavor of foods without needing to add a lot of extra ingredients or calories! Learn the basics of common cooking techniques to navigate recipes and get healthy meals on the table: https://sm.eatright.org/culinarylingo.*
Eating healthfully doesn't have to be complicated! Choose nutritious foods that have vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients. Use these tips: https://sm.eatright.org/ERnotcomplicated.*
*Source: https://www.eatright.org/food/resources/national-nutrition-month
Blood donations needed to find rare blood type
Earlier this year, the story of La Jolla resident and mother of three, Stacie Buechel, was shared with the public to encourage San Diegans to donate blood. Stacie was recently diagnosed with bone cancer and needs blood transfusions as part of her treatment, but her situation is complicated because she has a rare blood type. Stacie needs blood from donors who have A+ (A positive), O- (o negative) or O+ (o positive) blood that also lacks a protein called kpb. Less than 1% of the U.S. population have this type of blood.
To date, a total of 1,226 people have donated blood at the San Diego blood bank in honor of Stacie, however, a match is yet to be found.
Upon learning of the number of people who have donated in her name, Buechel said: “I believe I can overcome this because I have so much love in my life! I transfer this love into hope, and I am going to transfer that hope into remission!”
Anyone who would like to donate blood in Stacie’s name can visit any San Diego Blood Bank donation location or mobile drive and note the donation code ESSB when registering.
More information on Stacie’s story can be found HERE.
team survivor
regina
Regina was diagnosed with right coronal craniosynostosis (a skull birth defect) at four-months-old. To correct her skull, Regina had her first surgery at nine-months-old and a second one at 15-months-old; she needed one blood transfusion during her first surgery. Regina is 3-years-old now and is doing great!
Hospital Partner Spotlight
Rady Children’s Hospital - San Diego
For over 30 years, San Diego Blood Bank has been the primary blood provider to Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and supplies lifesaving blood products to pediatric patients in need.
“We consider SDBB an essential partner for the care of our patients at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. From providing live dashboard inventory management and nighttime STAT deliveries to performing reference testing and consultation on rare antigen negative units, the staff at SDBB is reliable, knowledgeable, and incomparably expert. We are so grateful for all of the work SDBB does to collect, process, and provide lifesaving blood products for our patients!”
— DR. DENISE MALICKI, CLINICAL PATHOLOGIST, RADY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL-SAN DIEGO
featured sponsor
Since 2003, GEICO has hosted 71 blood drives – impacting approximately 5,300 lives!
In addition to their support of blood drives, GEICO has given over $26,000 in generous financial donations to help SDBB fund critical resources such as new bloodmobiles and emergency preparedness blood collection systems to ensure a safe and robust blood supply for our community. We value our long-time partnership with GEICO and look forward to impacting thousands of more lives together for years to come. Thank you, GEICO!
“We’ve partnered with SDBB for over a decade and are always impressed by the work they do preparing for emergencies and providing resources to local hospitals—especially during the COVID-19 crisis. Our associates participate in blood drives and fundraising with SDBB because we believe in supporting our local communities and those who are going through life’s unexpected events.”
”--Greg Jacobi, Regional Vice President at GEICO’s San Diego office.
Special Thanks
Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust
San Diego Blood Bank is thankful to Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust for their financial support to help fund one Trima Apheresis System. These systems are used every day to collect, spin, and separate whole blood into transfusable platelets, plasma, and red blood cells in real-time. For nearly a year, Trima systems have also supported our efforts in the fight against COVID-19 to help collect COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) from people who have recovered from the virus. CCP is then provided to patients as a therapeutic treatment for those who are ill from COVID-19.
Founded in 1994, Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust is a private foundation in San Diego that was founded to support various local nonprofit charitable institutions. Many thanks to Mandell Weiss for their partnership and support of SDBB’s mission of saving lives in partnership with the community.
Donor Recognition
Madison Draper
In memory of Madison Draper’s dad, on March 5th Madison began her 4x4x48 running challenge where she ran 4 miles, every 4 hours, for 48 hours- totaling 48 miles in two days. As part of the challenge, Madison decided to raise money for San Diego Blood Bank and set a goal to raise $1,000. Through her 12 different routes around San Diego and the generous sponsors she had, Madison exceeded her goal and raised $4,700 in support of SDBB’s critical resources such as blood bags and supplies. We would like to thank Madison for her dedication and support of San Diego Blood Bank! We are grateful and value Madison’s partnership!
Join SDBB’s Visionary Circle
monthly giving program!
SDBB's Visionary Circle is an exclusive membership of financial donors who commit to a monthly financial gift of any amount Our goal is to welcome 70 new donors to the Visionary Circle by March 30, 2021. 35 new monthly donors have already joined, and we have three weeks left to reach 70 new Visionary members. Help us reach our goal by March 30th!
Please consider reaching out to your friends and family to see if they would join you in becoming a Visionary Circle member? Don’t forget to mention that they will receive a complimentary annual subscription to San Diego Magazine if they sign up before March 30th!
The monthly financial support of our Visionary Circle members funds greatest finanical needs for critical blood collection resources such as new bloodmobiles, blood bags and supplies, and new Trima systems - state-of-the-art blood collection systems that separate whole blood into red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. No donation is too small.
Each monthly gift of $10.00 (35¢ per day), funds one blood bag to collect one blood donation - saving up to 3 lives. Every monthly financial gift, big or small, helps ensure the steady supply of vital blood products and services, and we can’t do it without you!
Financial donors impact every aspect of SDBB’s mission, from funding critical resources for blood transfusions, to advancing research, your monthly financial donation helps to sustain SDBB’s mission every day.
For more information about the Visionary Circle and the impact monthly giving makes to providing lifesaving services to the community, please contact Lauren Torres, Development Manager, at ltorres@sandiegobloodbank.org or 619-400-8185.
Featured Funding Priority
Five new Trima Accel® Automated Blood Collection Systems
A Trima Accel® Automated Blood Collection System separates whole blood into platelets, plasma, and red blood cells through a process called apheresis. Through a safe, closed-loop system, the components of blood that are not needed are returned to the donor, resulting in less fluid loss and more specialized blood products for specific patient needs. See how it works below!
Impact of Trima Systems:
Trima apheresis machines enable blood donors to donate single, double, or triple platelet units efficiently
Cancer patients may need up to seven or eight platelet transfusions per week during chemotherapy treatments. Because platelet units only have a five-day shelf-life, the need for platelet donors is constant
Trauma victims may require up to 50 units of red blood cells as well as many treatments of plasma and platelet units
Patients suffering from blood disorders like anemia may need red blood cell transfusions every few weeks for the rest of their lives.
Join us in our mission to save lives by helping to fund five new cutting-edge Trima Accel® Automated Blood Collection Systems (Trima systems) needed for our new permanent donor centers in Point Loma and South San Diego communities.
Health and Wellness
Healthy St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
Slow cooker beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots. (Photo: Brian Kennedy; Styling: Lindsey Lower)
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th can include traditional Irish fare or something a little more festive. These healthy St. Patrick's Day recipes have ideas for everyone eager to celebrate all things Ireland and green on March 17.
Click HERE to visit Cooking Light’s slideshow of healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipes.
SDBB News
new gallon recognition program!
We are proud to announce SDBB’s new Gallon Milestone Recognition Program! This new program offers blood donors special gift options (known as Choice Rewards) at specific milestones. Gifts include T-shirts, full hooded zip-up sweatshirts, polos and other fun items like cell phone wallets (the donor pictured above took a photo of himself with the gift he received in the mail when he hit 1 gallon.) For more information visit https://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/donors/donor-programs.
Stay Safe
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country and the world, we all must remain vigilant. The changes we have had to make to routines and daily life are extremely hard, but these changes are even more important now and in the future. The more steps you and your family can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the safer you will be.
The CDC has recommendations on how to slow the spread, how to protect yourself when going out, and much more. Learn more. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/need-to-know.html
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.
