BBD’s blood drive with the Kent Center next week will be a win-win for everyone involved.
This promising, new partnership will have a powerful, dual purpose. While BBD phlebotomists collect lifesaving blood at the Feb. 7 drive, the clients of the Kent Center will be able to interact with the community in a positive way.
The Kent Center provides services and activities to those with various developmental disabilities, from autism spectrum disorder to Down syndrome.
“Personally, I don’t look at them as having disabilities,” Kent Center Activities Coordinator Arthur Lee said. “I look at them as gifts so I call them gifted friends. They can do things that we can’t.”
Lee is working with BBD Account Executive Mary Moore to organize the blood drive.
“The idea behind the blood drive is to open up the community to the people here and integrate them,” Moore said. “They have a beautiful center here and it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Moore plans to have several Kent Center individuals with moderate disabilities greet donors at the entrance to the Kent Center, hang people’s coats and direct them to the donor area, which will be staged in the banquet hall. They will also help hand out refreshments to donors after they give. (Donors recover with juice, cookies and other refreshments.)
Lee and Moore have set a goal of signing up 55 donors for this blood drive, scheduled for 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Kent Center Banquet Hall, 215 Scheeler Road, Chestertown, Md. Please call 1-888-8-BLOOD-8 and use code KCI to book an appointment.
BBD serves all 19 hospitals in the Delmarva Peninsula and must maintain a seven-day supply of all blood types. To learn more about donating or hosting a blood drive, please visit www.delmarvablood.org.
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