The American Red Cross will be having a community blood drive at Genesee Community College from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday Oct. 7-8. Your generous donation of blood is very much needed and greatly appreciated. Could you take some time to give to this critical cause?
 

The Genesee County Chapter of the American Red Cross is recruiting volunteers to help staff emergency shelters at area high schools.

Loren Penman provided the video and the following information:

The Genesee County Chapter of the American Red Cross is one of only 128 chapters in the nation (and 6 in New York State) to have been awarded a competitive grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation.  The funds support grassroots efforts for disaster response and projects to build local capacity in our communities.  According to a Wal-Mart Foundation press release, the goal of the disaster readiness effort funded by this donation is to ensure that smaller, rural communities can respond to the needs of its residents in the first few days of a disaster.

The grants will help the Red Cross chapters acquire and maintain material and human resources necessary to manage relief operations and will also be used to improve community relationships.  Being prepared with trained people and adequate supplies on hand prior to a disaster event can help save lives, time and money, the press release goes on to say.

A total of $5 million was awarded to Red Cross chapters in 44 states and 3 U.S. territories.  Grant proposals were evaluated at the national level; local Wal-Mart stores were not involved in the process.

The Genesee County Chapter's project involves the purchase of critical disaster supplies and equipment, particularly for use in emergency shelters.  Another part of the project will recruit and train high school students in Batavia, Byron-Bergen and Oakfield-Alabama to serve as shelter volunteers in their respective school buildings.  Included in the grant are monies to support AmeriCorps positions (one in each district) to work with faculty advisors in order to develop full-fledged, student emergency response teams.

A video has been created to help prospective student volunteers understand how they can become involved.  For more information, contact Loren Penman at lpenman1@yahoo.com

From Genesee Community College:

Genesee Community College is kicking off the start of the spring semester with a Blood Drive on February 5 and 6 in the Forum at the Batavia campus. It is sponsored by the Student Government Association along with the American Red Cross. Each day the drive will run from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

As an added incentive to students and community members, the Red Cross is offering participants who donate blood during the drive a chance to win a year's subscription to NetFlix, an online DVD rental service that offers flat rate rental-by-mail and online streaming to its customers. This service offers over 100,000 DVD titles to rent with no late fees.

To give blood for transfusion to another person, a person must be healthy, be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and not have donated whole blood in the last 8 weeks. "Healthy" means that a person feels well and can perform normal activities. If a person has a chronic condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure, "healthy" also means that they are being treated and the condition is under control.

"Sponsoring a Blood Drive is an excellent way to start the spring semester off on the right foot," said Joanna Barefoot, Assistant Director of Student Activities at Genesee. "We hope to encourage not only faculty and students to donate, but also the community to come together to donate for a great cause."

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged for donors. Signup sheets for donors and volunteers to work either day are available in the Student Activities office at the Batavia campus. Donors and volunteers can stop by the office, or call 585- 345-6832 to register.

For further information, please contact the office of Student Activities at 585-345-6832, or visit www.donatebloodnow.org.

Thanks to everyone who attended the Red Cross Open House!

Remember, the Genesee County American Red Cross now is located at 109 Main Street, Batavia. 

An article in the Democrat & Chronicle yesterday procalimed that a "shrinking pool" of blood donors in the New York and Pennsylvania region is "making it harder for the American Red Cross to collect blood year-round." Blood types were rationed on three occasions this past summer, according to the article. Of the 38 percent of Americans who are eligible to give blood, only about 5 percent actually get out and do so. Supplies for all blood types except B- and B+ are low and if not soon replenished could lead to a blood emergency. On and on the article goes, citing bleak figures and the need for more people to get out and give blood.

Joe Naples said that isn't necessarily the case in Genesee County.

"We didn't have to ration here," said Naples, the account manager for the Blood Services Division of the American Red Cross. "Batavia is a great town to do blood drives."

Batavia may not turn out the most bodies, he explained, but there is a very high per capita participation" and the donors are very loyal.

"We see the same people coming by each time," he said.

Nevertheless, more donors are always needed.

There are two ways to find out where drives are going on in your area, said Naples. (A list of upcoming drives in Genesee County is listed below.) You can visit Donate Blood Now online. Or you can call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.

For some folks, finding out if they are eligible to give blood might be the first step. Judith Nagel is the executive director of the Genesee County Chapter of the American Red Cross. She says that folks can call that same 800 number to find out if they are eligible.

Most people are, she says. You have to be 17 years old and 105 pounds and generally healthy. Anyone who may have recently been tatooed would have to wait some months before they can give blood. But there are many people who think they may not be eligible when, in fact, they are. There are some medication restrictions, says Nagel, but people on high blood pressure meds, diabetics and recovered cancer patients are all eligible to donate.

So what keeps people from the needle? Well... that's just it: the needle.

"Fear," says Nagel. "But once you donate, the prick is so momentary."

Besides, she says, donors are pampered. Once they give up their pint they get cookies and juice and a sticker and a whole cast of folks waiting in line to give them kudos.

"I mean really, who can turn down cookies and juice," she says. "All the Lorna Doones you can eat. The feeling of giving the gift is so amazing that once you get over the fear of getting pricked by a needle, the reward is tremendous."

If you're finally willing to take that plunge, here's a list of upcoming blood drives in Genesee County (note there are two drives today in Batavia and Oakfield):

September 12 (today):

• Oakfield United Methodist Church, 2 S. Main St., Oakfield: 1:30 to 6:30pm
• Batavia VA Medical Center, 222 Richmond Ave., 9:00am to 3:00pm

September 26:

• Pembroke Community Center, 116 Main Road, Corfu: 1:30 to 6:30pm

September 27:

• Stafford Fire Dept., Route 5, Stafford: 9:00am to 2:00pm

September 30:

• Chapin Manufacturing, 700 Ellicott St., Batavia: 9:00am to 2:00pm

October 6:

• Pavilion Fire Dept., Route 19, Pavilion: 2:00 to 7:00pm

October 7:

• Northgate Free Methodist Church, 350 Bank St., 2:00 to 7:00pm

From the Daily News (Thursday):

• Center Street Smokehouse owner Cregg Paul rejected a plea deal and will go to trial for charges of state tax evasion. Paul "insisted he is being targeted by over-zealous state prosecutors," writes reporter Scott DeSmit. Charges include: repeated failure to file corporate tax returns, offering a false instrument for filing and filing false returns on corporate taxes. A no-jury bench trial could begin August 26.
• Genesee County's Red Cross was among four of the 36 chapters in the state honored in the top 90 highest performing chapters among 700 nationwide. Reporter Roger Muehlig writes: "The high-performing chapter ranking is based on a comprehensive set of performance standards for Red Cross chapters across the country." This is the second straight year that the Genesee chapter made the top 90.
• A story on page one covers the Genesee Community College budget increase reported on WBTA this morning and in more detail here on The Batavian.
• I must admit I'm a little baffled by reporter Joanne Beck's lede in a story about a YWCA event, Women & Issues, held yesterday. Beck writes: "Cliché or not, Shelly Stein gave some thoughtful counsel to women Wednesday." My question: Was it thoughtful or was it cliché? My understanding is that a cliché requires no thought. That's why it's cliché. Whatever.
• Batavian Daniel N. Dawson, 32, was convicted in Genesee County Court of two counts of first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary and two counts of attempted second-degree assault yesterday. Dawson could face up to 25 years in prison. The charges stem from a home-invasion assault that happened in Batavia last year.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.