UD again awarded CAA blood drive award

Robert Travis and Shay Robb (left), Blood Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore, and CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager (center left) make the “Have a Heart” blood drive challenge award presentation, which is accepted for UD in recognition of student volunteer efforts by Maria Duprez (center right) of HOLA, Kim Mattes of the Resident Student Association and Lynsey Welch (right) of Kappa Alpha Theta.

2:04 p.m., Feb. 13, 2004--For the second year in a row, the University of Delaware has been awarded first place in the “Have A Heart” blood drive challenge among schools in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

During the Nov. 19 blood drive in the Trabant University Center, 408 donors were processed by staff from the Blood Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore who collected 311 units of blood in the largest single-day blood drive in its history. The record breaks the previous mark recorded by UD during the first-ever CAA “Have A Heart” blood drive in November 2002, during which 262 units of blood were collected.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager and representatives from the Blood Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore, visited the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center to present the first-place award to UD during halftime festivities in a CAA men’s basketball game between the Blue Hens and Towson University.

Overall, the “Have a Heart” blood challenge, which was held on the campuses of 10 CAA member schools, collected 1,409 units of blood from 1,926 prospective donors, a 21 percent increase from last year.

In December, UD President David P. Roselle praised the efforts of the “Have A Heart” participants at UD and the other CAA institutions, including UNC Wilmington, Drexel, George Mason, Hofstra, James Madison, Old Dominion, Towson and Virginia Commonwealth universities and the College of William and Mary.

“The CAA Blood Challenge has several goals: to assist the communities in which CAA member institutions are located, and to create school spirit through a competition in which students, staff and faculty can participate and to create awareness of and excitement about the Colonial Athletic Association,” Roselle said. “We at the University of Delaware are in support of each of those goals, and we are delighted that our University colleagues—especially our students—have endorsed them by way of their championship participation.”

The event was sponsored by Kappa Alpha Theta, the Resident Student Association and HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latino Americas).

Members of the UD community who would like to become donors can participate in one of the following Blood Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore blood drives scheduled for the campus this spring:

Tuesday/Wednesday, Feb. 25-25;

Tuesday, March 16; and

Tuesday/Wednesday, May 4-5.

All blood drives are held from noon-5 p.m., in the Multipurpose Room of the Trabant University Center.
No appointment is necessary. Walk-in donors are welcome at all times.

Potential donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good general health and have had no tattoos or body piercings in the last 12 months. Donors should remember to eat a good meal within three hours of donating.

For more information, call the Blood Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore at 737-8400.

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo by Kevin Tucker

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