May 2021 Philanthropy Update
To impact patients like leukemia survivor Angel (with his mom)
In addition to celebrating Mother’s Day this month, we also celebrate Women’s Health Week, May 9-15, 2021. The week serves as a reminder for women to make their health a priority and build positive health habits for life.
SDBB is also celebrating the arrival of two new bloodmobiles to replace older ones that no longer meet California emissions standards. These new bloodmobiles will ensure that SDBB has the capacity to continue to collect vital blood products for patients in need like Angel (pictured above with his mom), who received lifesaving platelet transfusions during treatment for leukemia. The purchase of these bloodmobiles was made possible through generous financial donations from corporations, foundations and individuals like you and we are truly grateful for your support. We could not do it without you!
Establishing steady financial support is critical for SDBB to continue to provide lifesaving blood products and services to San Diego and beyond. Along with 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.
This year, Leadership and Visionary Circle gifts will support the resources needed for our new permanent donor center in Liberty Station opening in July 2021. This new donor center will help ensure that SDBB has the capacity to meet the needs of our hospital partners. Please consider joining the the Leadership or Visionary Circle today.
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
Special Thanks
SDBB is excited to once again celebrate our partnership with the Padres for the 5th Annual Padres Blood Drive on June 2. Each year, hundreds of Padres fans, local families and blood donors come out to Petco’s Park at the Park (now Gallagher Square) in June to donate blood on one of eight lifesaving bloodmobiles for an all-day event. Last year, SDBB collected more than 350 pints of blood, impacting up to 1,050 lives! Thank you, Padres, for your partnership to help SDBB providing lifesaving blood to local patients in need.
“The Padres are proud supporters of San Diego Blood Bank and looking forward to another annual Padres Summer Blood Drive in 2020! We have great respect both for their mission and the management team carrying out the mission. SDBB is an organization truly having a lifesaving impact on our community.”
– Tom Seidler, Senior Vice President, Community & Military Affairs, San Diego Padres
meet team survivor Susanne
Susanne needed five blood transfusions due to uncontrollable bleeding while giving birth to her youngest son. That inspired her to start an annual blood drive 15 years ago in the legal field where she works, bringing in approximately 90 pints per year. Susanne is also an AED advocate, and loves to spread awareness for heart health, first aid and helping others in medical need.
She believes in the age-old saying that "to whom much is given, much is required" and that giving back to your community is so important. Her goal is to someday go on "Good Morning America" to discuss her AED and health advocacy work.
Featured Funding Priority
leadership giving circle and
SDBB’s new permanent donor center in liberty station
To better serve the San Diego community, SDBB is opening a new permanent donor center in Point Loma at Liberty Station in July 2021. The current, temporary location sees over 600 blood donors each month, impacting nearly 20,000 lives! SDBB needs your support to fund critical resources for this center, such as blood bags, supplies, and new Trima Systems that collect and separate whole blood donations into plasma, platelets, and red blood cells.
Collectively, this year’s gifts from Leadership Circle Members will help fund the build-out of the Liberty Station Donor Center. From donor chairs to blood collection supplies and Trima Systems, we rely on your financial support to outfit our newest donor center.
This spring, help us to double our current Leadership Circle membership from 35 to 70 total members by June 30, who altogether will help fund the critical resources needed for the permanent Liberty Station Donor Center. With your continued support, we can successfully raise $70,000 or more to ensure that this new donor center is fully operational this year.
Will you support SDBB by becoming a Leadership 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.
San Diego Blood Bank and UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HEALTH MILK BANK
In 2020, University of California San Diego Health (UC Health) and SDBB continued their collaboration to build a milk bank at the SDBB Gateway Center facility. The milk bank is the 30th nonprofit milk bank in North America and the first owned and operated by a health system. Having UC Health Milk Bank inside the walls of SDBB is a great fit; allowing the milk bank to tap into the SDBB blood screening process, courier collection of milk at the community donor sites, and deliver the finished milk product to regional hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Units. The UC Health Milk Bank has over 130 donors and is collecting 10,000- 15,000 ounces of milk each month.
featured sponsor
To Sycuan Casino Resort, giving back to the San Diego community is a top priority both as an organization and through its many team members. Sycuan is a dedicated partner to numerous local charities ranging from social and health services to the arts and the environment. Sycuan’s mission is simple: to improve the community in any and every way possible!
“Sycuan has been a proud supporter of the San Diego Blood Bank since 1995. For the past four consecutive years, we have partnered with the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Blood Bank for their Annual Padres Summer Blood Drive. The blood donations collected throughout the year by the San Diego Blood Bank saves thousands of lives and we are extremely grateful for all of the invaluable services that this organization provides to our entire community. We look forward to continuing this partnership for many more years to come.”
— CODY J. MARTINEZ, CHAIRMAN, SYCUAN BAND OF THE KUMEYAAY NATION
Guests at Sycuan can enjoy a wide range of onsite amenities including a variety of restaurants from fast-casual to fine dining, meeting and event space, a full-service spa, fitness center and a state-of-the-art pool and gardens area with a lazy river and swim-up bar. Sycuan also boasts a total of 2,500 slot machines and 54 table games in a variety of gaming options. Sycuan is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information visit www.sycuan.com
Health and Wellness
Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
WOMEN’S HEALTH WEEK 2021 - MAY 9 - 15
National Women’s Health Week starts each year on Mother’s Day to encourage women and girls to make their health a priority. Even during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there are safe ways for you to stay active and healthy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women’s Health leads National Women’s Health Week to encourage all women to be as healthy as possible.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/nwhw/index.html
STEPS TOWARD A SAFER, HEALTHIER LIFE
Get recommended screenings and preventative care - Protect your health by getting the care you need to prevent disease, disability, and injuries.
Get moving - Get out and about and enjoy the spring and summer weather. Physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health and has many benefits, including lowering your risk for heart disease—the leading cause of death for women.
Enjoy a healthy and balanced diet - A healthy eating plan includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat free and low-fat milk and other dairy products, lean meats, and is low in salt, saturated and trans fats, and added sugars.
Prioritize mental health - Keep your mind and body healthy. Research shows that positive mental health is associated with improved health.
Practice healthy behaviors - Getting enough sleep is important for overall health. It impacts how you feel and perform during the day. Adults need at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
SDBB in action
sDBB’s cord blood bank
In the past, when a baby was born the umbilical cord was discarded as medical waste. Medical research has since shown that cord blood is a rich source of life-saving stem cells that can be used to treat serious health problems in patients. Now blood from the umbilical cord is collected after a baby's birth and can be donated to a public cord blood bank like the one at the San Diego Blood Bank. That cord blood can help someone with a life-threatening disease.
Cord blood collection is a safe and non-invasive process. If a woman chooses to donate umbilical cord blood, labor and delivery is not affected. No blood is taken from the baby, only from the umbilical cord after the baby is born and separated from cord. After the cord blood is collected, it is stored in the San Diego Blood Bank Cell Therapy Program and made available through the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) Be the Match Registry® for lifesaving transplantation in patients.
SDBB’s Cell Therapy program recently shipped another umbilical cord blood unit to a 10-month-old recipient in the U.S. with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID). SCID is an inherited condition in which genetic mutations affect the development and function of immune cells. Without treatment, life expectancy for these patients is 1-2 years of age.
“Shipping cord blood units for transplant cannot happen without the generous gift from our donors, support of our partner OBGYNs, midwives, nurses and the interdepartmental teamwork from our SDBB family. Thank you to everyone at SDBB for ensuring we are able to offer these life-saving treatments!!” – David Wellis, CEO, SDBB
For more information on our Cell Therapy Program, please call us at 619-400-8304. Financial donations are vital in keeping San Diego Blood Bank’s Cell Therapy Program on the cutting edge of cell therapy and research. Click HERE to donate today.
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.
