Red Cross, NFL partnering during National Blood Donor Month

Cathy Plewinski donates convalescent plasma at the Red Cross Cheektowaga blood donation center

The American Red Cross and the NFL are partnering this January, during National Blood Donor Month, to urge individuals – especially those who have recovered from COVID-19 – to give blood and to help tackle the national convalescent plasma shortage.

The Red Cross has teamed up with the NFL to offer those who come to give blood, platelets or plasma, Jan. 1-31, 2021, a chance to win a getaway to the 2022 Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. As an extra thank-you from the Red Cross, those who come to give Jan. 1-20, 2021, will also be automatically entered to win a Big Game at Home package, which includes a 65-inch television and $500 gift card toward food and fun so their household can enjoy an awesome viewing experience safely at home. Terms apply; visit RedCrossBlood.org/SuperBowl for more information.  

Cathy Plewinski of Buffalo is one of the tens of thousands who rolled up a sleeve in 2020 to donate their antibody-rich plasma to help those most critically ill with COVID-19.  “I’ve seen it first hand as a nurse – people getting better from receiving this plasma," she said. "I believe strongly if you’ve had COVID-19 and survived it, you should help anyone else who is in that same predicament.”

  

Two ways COVID-19 survivors can help   

Health emergencies don’t pause for holidays, game days or a pandemic – blood is needed every two seconds in the U.S. to help patients battling injury and illness. As COVID-19 cases have risen across the U.S., so has the need for convalescent plasma – leading to a shortage of this potentially lifesaving blood product.   

  

There are two ways those who have recovered from COVID-19 can make a big difference:  

 

• A convalescent plasma donation: The Red Cross is collecting convalescent plasma at over 170 locations throughout the country. If you’ve recovered from COVID-19, you may be eligible to donate your plasma to help others going through COVID-19 treatment. Fill out the eligibility form to start the process.  

 

• A whole blood donation: Plasma from whole blood donations that test positive for COVID-19 antibodies may be used to help COVID-19 patients. Make an appointment to give blood by downloading the free Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).    

  

Kick off the year by making a lifesaving donation this National Blood Donor Month.   

A Year of Remarkable Challenges

By every measure the year 2020 has been one that won’t soon be forgotten. From a total of seven named hurricanes, five named tropical storms, wildfires that burned over 9.5 million acres and the greatest loss of life caused by tornadoes since 2011, nature’s wrath was felt far and wide. Overshadowing the already very difficult conditions caused by these natural disasters has been a global pandemic, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for generations.    

Nevertheless, despite such serious challenges, the American Red Cross is there to meet the needs and adapt in ways that allow for successfully providing critical basic services to thousands of people affected by such dramatic and stressful conditions. This accomplishment was only made possible by dedicated Red Cross volunteers like the Southern Tier Chapter's Don Lamanna.

A native of the Mohawk Valley, Don is no stranger to working in difficult situations to help others.    Now retired from a 30-year career with the Oneonta Fire Department and service as an emergency medical technician, as well as a motor coach driver, Don notes he wasn’t content with “just sitting around and watching television” news stories about disasters in which he might help out.  So when news of August 2018 flash flooding in the Finger Lakes region came across the screen, he was quick to make his first Red Cross deployment relatively close to home.   Since then Don’s passion for serving others in their time of need has led to his creating a log book so that the number of Red Cross deployments in which his has taken part won’t be forgotten.   In 2020 alone Don’s log gained four new entries which now brings the total number of times he’s deployed since 2018 to 11.   Deployments in 2020 sent him to the Philadelphia area following Tropical Storm Isaias, Baton Rouge and New Orleans in support of hurricane recovery operations, and twice to Oregon wildfires.   

To his further credit, Don performs more than one role with the Red Cross and reports that when he arrives at a deployment the first thing he does is ask what needs to be done that he can help with. Such duties have included damage assessment to determine areas where localized Red Cross assistance is needed as well as serving as a mass care supervisor. During this year’s deployment to Louisiana Don helped supervise the care of 380 displaced people who were provided with accommodations in commercial lodging to avoid the potential spread of COVID-19 in the close quarters of congregate sheltering.   Other adaptive measures were Red Cross services like health counseling that were provided by volunteers remotely by computers. While Don is not shy about acknowledging that his experience and interests don’t include computer skills,  he was equally ready to point out that other volunteers with such skills were close at hand to take care of that part of what was needed. By and large Don was very pleased to observe that, during his deployments this year, the public in general followed Center for Disease Control COVID-19 guidance in a manner akin to that practiced by the Red Cross.

Teamwork and support outside the deployment is also something Don is aware of and keenly appreciates.   When at his home in Oneonta he volunteers several days a week at a busy local food pantry. In his absences that has also included mandatory self-quarantines upon returning home from deployments, other volunteers, among whom his wife, Sallyann, is one, step up to carry out the work he would normally be performing.

Then too, adding even more to the year’s remarkable achievements is the fact that while all of these Red Cross responses to natural disasters were taking place, irreplaceable, ongoing routine services like community blood drives and Disaster Assistance Teams that respond 24/7 to emergencies such as residential home fires likewise continued.   

Whether contributing financially, donating blood, or through volunteer service like Don Lamanna’s, there are a wide range of opportunities for others who would like to be part of the gratifying and crucial work the American Red Cross has provided for almost 140 years.  Learn more by visiting redcross.org.

Story by Robert Eurich, American Red Cross

Service runs deep for American Red Cross volunteer

 “Keeping busy by being useful” is a key reason why retired career U.S. Army officer, Bruce Ressner, says he has become an American Red Cross volunteer. In so doing he has joined hundreds of volunteers in the Western New York Region. 

Nationally, volunteers make up 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce who attend to a wide variety of tasks such as running blood drives and teaching classes to providing for emergency needs of those affected by major disasters.  Red Cross volunteers like Bruce come from all sorts of backgrounds and communities but they also share many things in common.  Among those common traits is a desire to help and be of service to others.  Based in the Southern Tier, Bruce knows a few things about service and brings with him a wealth of experience to the roles he plays.

A West Point Military Academy graduate, dad, grandfather, and husband of 28 years to his wife Mary,  “Rezz,” as he likes to be called, only became a Red Cross volunteer in 2019 but quickly stepped up to apply his skills and interests to areas of need. One of the tasks he takes care of is overseeing a centrally located Red Cross warehouse containing everything from cots, blankets, personal comfort kits and shovels to power generators and lights.  

Not surprisingly, Bruce also participates in Service to the Armed Forces, logging between 80 to 120 follow-up calls a month helping to ensure military personnel and their families are aware of counseling and support that’s available to them.

Although health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has put a hold on  the Red Cross “Sound the Alarm” initiative, Rezz has likewise taken part in the project that installs free smoke alarms in homes and offers fire safety information to families.   When not dedicating his time to the Red Cross, Bruce also serves as a driver for Meals on Wheels as well as filling in where needed at the Binghamton German Club.

Adding to his impressive dedication to service, Rezz went on his first Red Cross deployment this year in support of services being provided to Texas and Louisiana following Hurricane Laura.   Deploying again is something he says ranks high on his list of goals.

While not everyone can engage in as robust a manner as Bruce has, whether contributing financially, donating blood or through volunteer service, there are a wide range of opportunities for others who would like to be part of the impactful, ongoing work the American Red Cross has provided since its founding in 1881.  Learn more by visiting redcross.org/volunteertoday

Story by Robert Eurich, American Red Cross

Red Cross team member shares ‘full circle’ experiences that inspire her to give back

Sarah Judkins says she didn’t fully appreciate the constant need for blood donors – even when she began working for the American Red Cross.

It wasn’t until a year later when she was called away from work at a blood drive due to a family emergency. She learned that her brother was experiencing complications from a planned surgical procedure, and upon arriving at the hospital still wearing her scrubs from the blood drive, the first thing she saw hanging over his bed was a unit of donated blood.

It was at that moment Sarah made a deep-rooted connection. “This is what I do every day, and now it has touched my family personally,” she recalled thinking at the time. She says her brother would’ve lost his life that day had he not received multiple blood transfusions made possible by volunteer blood donors.

Sarah experienced additional “full circle” moments years later when her mother, Jane, who suffered from a degenerative bone disease, went to the hospital for a seventh hip surgery and needed platelets in order to move forward with the procedure. Eight months later, Jane again received donor blood in the form of plasma, platelets and red cells when she underwent open heart surgery.

A regular donor herself, Sarah currently gives platelets and plasma and has rolled up her sleeves 14 times already this year alone in order to make a difference for others facing the unexpected.

This summer, Sarah honored the anniversary of her mother’s passing by donating blood, accompanied by an unusual guest, “Phyllis the Flamingo” (pictured). Phyllis was a gift from Sarah’s mother – renowned for practical jokes – and ended up being the last gift her mother ever gave her. Around the time Sarah received Phyllis, her mother was unable to join the family on a summer vacation, so Phyllis came along for the journey instead.  Sarah documented it all in a special photo album that was gifted back to Jane to help lift her spirits on the morning of her cardiac surgery.

Today, Sarah says she looks at Phyllis and smiles not only remembering her mother, but also celebrating the precious gift of time that blood donors gave her family for the eight months between her mother’s surgeries.

She finds meaning working with Red Cross collections team because it places her close to the organization’s mission and allows her to help ensure donors have a great experience and return for future donations. During this uncertain time, the Red Cross needs healthy, eligible individuals to give blood or platelets for patients battling disease and facing the unexpected, now and in the weeks and months to come. 

Appointments can be scheduled through the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 800-RED-CROSS.

"Not every family is touched by the need for blood and my family was impacted by blood donors more than once,” Sarah remarked. “Next time it may be someone else’s family who has that critical need and I want to be sure I am doing my part to be there for them.”

Story by: Katie Potter, American Red Cross