Bank Challenge Monday to restock blood supply
By Staff Reports
Published in News on March 11, 2012 1:50 AM
Wayne County's financial institutions are once again joining forces to collect blood for the American Red Cross.
The 9th annual Bank Challenge will be held Monday from 12:30 to 5 p.m. at the Wayne County Chapter office, 600 N. George St. This year's goal is 30 units of blood.
"For eight consecutive years, the banks and credit unions in Wayne County have joined to rally their employees, customers and members to donate the gift of life" said Kate Daniels, vice chairman of the Red Cross chapter and marketing and public relations manager for the North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union.
She said the challenge started with one goal in mind -- to educate the community on the importance of donating blood and to collect as much blood as possible for the drive.
"With all of the medical advancements in today's world, there is still no substitute for human blood," Mrs. Daniels said. "Without generous donor in our community, the blood supply simply would not be there."
"Statistics tell us that 92 percent of the population will have a blood need sometime in their lifetime. Currently only three out of every 100 people in America donate blood. We are challenging Wayne County residents to start changing these numbers one donor at a time."
The bank or credit union with the most employees or customers donating is named winner of the annual Bank Challenge and will display a plaque at its business for the year.
Last year's winner was the North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union.
"This is a natural fit for us and other financial institutions to step up and promote giving the gift of life," said Claudia Meeks, vice president and chief operating officer of the credit union and a Red Cross board member. "We encouraged our employees and members to donate and had great success."
Appointments for the Bank Challenge blood drive can be made by logging onto www.redcrossblood.org/Carolinas, or by calling Mrs. Daniels at 920-5442.
"Donating blood is free, and it's a lifeline to someone in need," she said. "We are very excited for all of the banks and credit unions to be teaming up again for another successful year."