July 2022 Philanthropy Update
Financial gifts support blood collection efforts for patients like Elizabeth, who was saved by blood donations after a traumatic motorcycle accident. Today, she’s paying it forward as a committed blood donor.
While summer is a time many enjoy vacations, cookouts and gatherings with friends and family, it is also a time hospitals need more blood for transfusions for serious injuries, surgeries, childbirth, blood disorders, anemia and many other conditions and situations.
Financial support of the Blood Collection Program at San Diego Blood Bank helps ensure we have the necessary resources to continue our blood collection efforts at our eight donation locations throughout San Diego County and on our fleet of 10 bloodmobiles.
As we celebrate the opening of our new permanent donation location in Chula Vista at Terra Nova Plaza, we begin our Campaign for Life to raise funds to replace an aging bloodmobile with a new model capable of collecting over 5,000 units each year, and saving as many as 15,000 lives every year of its 15-year lifespan.
Our mission to provide a safe and robust blood supply to our community is made possible by your generosity. We are grateful for your continued financial partnership.
With gratitude,
Sherry Serio
Vice President of Development
SDBB in Action
New Chula Vista Donation Location in Terra Nova Plaza
Blood recipient Mercedes and San Diego Blood Bank staff cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new permanent donation location in Chula Vista.
On June 8, 2022, staff, volunteers, blood donors and blood recipients gathered to celebrate the opening of our newest location in Chula Vista at Terra Nova Plaza. This new location is expected to collect over 400 donations each month, impacting as many as 14,400 lives each year!
Many generous individual financial donors and organizations donated to help support the start-up equipment needed to open the new, permanent Chula Vista donation location at Terra Nova Plaza.
We are grateful to The San Diego Woman's Club for their generous gift of $25,000 to fund seven new phlebotomy chairs for this location. Phlebotomy chairs are critical blood resources that are relied upon daily; not a single blood donation occurs without the use of a phlebotomy chair.
Thank you to The San Diego Woman's Club for their 19-year partnership and their gifts totaling over $137,000 that have funded critical blood collection resources that has impacted thousands of lives.
San Diego Woman’s Club Diane Hazard and Judy Mantle with Sherry Serio, SDBB VP of Development, Doug Morton, SDBB CEO and Cherryl Castro-Lector, SDBB Development Manager.
Meet Team Survivor Marina
Marina received multiple blood transfusions after losing a large amount of blood due to complications during childbirth. Today, she’s a dedicated blood donor and her son has a child of his own. When talking about blood, Marina says “It’s a precious, priceless thing that you can give to anyone”.
Steady Support for Blood Collection
SDBB’s Visionary Circle is a monthly giving program that helps to provide steady funding for the critical blood collection resources needed to support the community. This includes blood bags, supplies for blood collections, and equipment such as Trima Systems that make blood collection safe and efficient. These resources helped SDBB collect and distribute over 227,000 units in 2021 to over 31 hospital partners and their patients.
By joining SDBB’s Visionary Circle, you can provide help for patients like Kamila, who was born with a genetic blood disorder called thalassemia that requires chronic lifelong blood transfusions. She received her first blood transfusion at 2 months of age and will continue to depend on them every 3-4 weeks for the rest of her life.
Whether it is $50 a month or $10 a month, your gift matters and will impact lives all year long! If you are interested in learning more about SDBB’s Visionary Circle, contact Lauren Torres at LTorres@sdbb.org or 619-400-8185.
Special Thanks
San Diego Blood Bank is grateful for the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors for their generous $65,000 grant to fund new Trima Systems at the South Bay donation location—our newest regional center. These apheresis machines help to streamline the collection of blood components into three parts: red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. Trima Systems play an integral part in our blood collection program every single day and are used at each of our nine regional centers and fleet of 10 bloodmobiles. We are extremely grateful for this significant gift, as well as the County’s continued partnership in saving lives with SDBB!
Featured Funding Priority
San Diego Blood Bank’s Campaign for Life
A New Bloodmobile for Our Blood Collection Program
Bloodmobiles are vital resources that help San Diego Blood Bank supply blood to those who need it most, like Juan (pictured right), who needed multiple blood transfusions as part of his treatment for leukemia.
In partnership with local churches, schools, and companies, San Diego Blood Bank hosted over 1,700 mobile blood drives last year, allowing us to collect over 40% of our blood supply through our Mobile Blood Collection Program. Through this program, more than 36,000 units of blood collected impacted the lives of as many as 108,000 patients in need!
Support our Campaign for Life as we raise funds for a bloodmobile to replace an aging one that has served our community for many years. The new modern bloodmobile will collect over 75,000 units over its 15-year lifespan, saving as many as 225,000 lives of those suffering from trauma, cancer, and other life-threatening diseases.
For more information on ways to give or partner with San Diego Blood Bank, please contact Sherry Serio, Vice President of Development, at sserio@sandiegobloodbank.org or 619-400-8188.
San Diego Blood Bank’s Annual Giving Programs
SDBB’s Leadership Circle, Visionary Circle and Friends of SDBB annual giving programs are a great way to support our ongoing blood collection and research efforts. Join today to make a difference in the lives of local patients in need.
Join SDBB’s Leadership Giving Circle with a $1,000 or more annual gift to fund critical resources and have an even greater impact on the lives of patients in need.
Visionary Circle: Join SDBB’s exclusive monthly giving program and provide steady income for SDBB’s programs.
Friends of SDBB: Make an annual financial donation to support SDBB’s greatest needs.
Your support will help fund SDBB’s blood collection resources such as supplies, equipment and bloodmobiles.
Financial 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 gift will help us continue to save thousands of lives every year.
Click on one of the logos above for more information and to read more about the how your gift can impact others, click HERE to see our 2020/2021 Impact Report.
july is cord blood awareness month
Did you know that new moms can donate umbilical cord blood after delivery to a public cord blood bank? Donated cord blood units can provide lifesaving stem cells to patients in need. Join us in celebrating Cord Blood Awareness Month during July.
San Diego Blood Bank collaborates with San Diego and Southern California hospitals to collect umbilical cord blood after the birth of a healthy full-term baby.
Umbilical cord stem cells provide hope for a cure and new life for patients in need of a transplant or life-threatening medical conditions such as leukemia, lymphoma, immune diseases, metabolic disorders, autism, stroke, and cerebral palsy.
Our Cord Blood Donation program collects, tests, and stores cord blood units (CBUs). Once listed on the Be The Match Registry® as part of the National Marrow Donor Program®(NMDP), the cord blood unit is available to help save a life. To date, we have shipped 158 cord blood units for transplant. Learn more about our program and cord blood donation at www.sandiegobloodbank.org/cord-blood-donation.
Health and Wellness
Image courtesy of HHS
U.V. Safety Awareness Month is held during summer when most of us spend more time outside making the most of the warmer weather. The longer your exposure, however, the greater your risk of sun damage if you’re unprotected.
5 THINGS TO KNOW TO STAY SUN SAFE
S.P.F. stands for Sun Protection Factor
The SPF number tells you how long the sun’s U.V. rays would take to darken your skin versus the amount of time without any sunscreen.
Always use a broad-spectrum sunscreen
This means it can protect you from both U.V.A. rays that cause sunburn and U.V.B. rays that cause skin damage like skin aging.
Not all sunglasses are created equal
Wrap-around or oversized styles offer more protection but make sure they block 99% to 100% of U.V. rays.
U.P.F. clothing can be expensive
Clothes labeled with Ultraviolet Protection Factor or U.P.F. provide a level of certainty but common fabrics like cotton and denim that cover most of your body can offer some protection as well.
Some clothing colors can provide U.V. protection
Darker and more vivid colors absorb more UV than pale colors, making them less likely to reach your skin.
For more information about sun safety visit Sun Safety | Skin Cancer | CDC
Community Connections
SDBB Foundation Development Manager Cherryl Castro-Lector (far right), SDBB Director, Community Relations and Media Claudine van Gonka, with County Supervisor Joel Anderson (eighth from right) with SDBB blood donors, SDBB volunteers and representatives from Grossmont Healthcare District and Sycuan Casino Resort.
On June 28, 2022, San Diego Blood Bank blood donors, financial donors, chair people, and volunteers received certificates of recognition from County Supervisor Joel Anderson’s office for their valued support of our mission and the good work they do in District 2. We thank Supervisor Anderson’s office for this opportunity to publicly recognize these individuals who go over and above to help ensure donated blood is available for hospital patients who need it.
BARONA RESORT & CASINO
Barona Resort & Casino is a longtime financial supporter and community partner. They've hosted mobile blood drives with SDBB since 2003 and they’ve sponsored many special events including the Million-dollar quacker dash. We thank Barona Resort & Casino for their continued partnership.
GROSSMONT HEALTHCARE DISTRICT
Grossmont Healthcare District has been a very valued partner of San Diego Blood Bank for many years, providing financial support for bloodmobiles and critical supplies and supporting various mobile blood drives throughout East County. We also work together every year on a “winter wishes” program that allows blood donors to provide stuffed animals to hospital patients over the winter holidays through blood donation. We thank Grossmont Healthcare District for all of their support over the years!
SYCUAN CASINO RESORT
Sycuan Casino Resort has supported San Diego Blood Bank in so many ways over the years – hosting mobile blood drives since 2003, providing sponsorships for special events and financial donations for critical supplies like our bloodmobiles, and providing in-kind donations for signature blood drives. They are true partners in every way!
other ways to support SDBB
Donate Your Unwanted Car, Truck, Motorcycle, RV or Boat to San Diego blood Bank and Help Save Lives
SDBB is partnering with Charitable Adult Rides and Services (CARS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise owned by a nonprofit and supporting only nonprofits through vehicle donations. CARS takes care of everything from the pick-up and sale to sending you the donation receipt and necessary tax documents. CARS is committed to treating every vehicle donor with gratitude and great service while delivering the highest possible returns to our partners. To date, CARS has returned more than $300 million to their nonprofit partners because of vehicles donors.
Simply click HERE to complete the form, and CARS will reach out to you to arrange the pick-up of your vehicle donation, at no cost to you. You will make a difference in the lives of patients needing lifesaving blood and your generous gift could earn you a tax deduction.
Gifts of Stock are a great way to make a lifesaving impact
San Diego Blood Bank Foundation accepts appreciated gifts of stock with tax benefits for the donor.
Donating stock is a great way to ensure you maximize your impact, with the added advantage of a tax deduction and removal of future capital gains.
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.
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 San Diego Blood Bank as the charitable organization to receive donations 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.
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.
