Another Milestone!

I don't like to brag but I've made the 6-gallon club at the American Red Cross!!

49 donations to date and climbing!

Ordered my pin, it's on the way.

"No Life Left Behind"

 Another American Red Cross blood donation in the books.

A Power Red donation too!

Up to 45 units, which apparently puts me in the 5-Gallon club and 135 Lives impacted by my donations over the years! 

RedCrossBlood.org

I made an appointment and attempted to donate platelets last Saturday.  Drove all the way from Franklin to the American Red Cross center in Dedham specifically to donate platelets.

Unfortunately, during the check-in process my iron count check came up high at 17.5 (20 being the max).  Although, I could have still donated, if I insisted, I was told that being that high the already 2+ hour process of platelet donation could go as high as 3+ hours as a result.  I was instead encouraged  to donate whole blood, so I did 1-pint. I'm now in the 5-Gallon Donor club!

The good news is I don't need to wait to donate platelets with my above 1-pint donation, so I'll be looking to schedule and try this once again.

Save A Life

Did it again!

Another Power Red donation under my belt.

Working towards my 6-Gallon milestone.

I'm On My Way...

I received my American Red Cross 5-gallon pin.

Here's to many more...

Another Pint Lower

I came across this blood drive posting on Facebook Friday afternoon and registered -

After shoveling I headed to the Franklin PD -

To donate a pint of blood -

August Blood Donation

Another double-red blood donation this past Saturday.

The blood drive was almost cancelled due to the heat. The AC at the donation center wasn't working.  They were able to eventually get everything taken care, so after an hour delay the blood was flowing.

Another Double Red Donation

Another Double Red Cells donation under my belt.

Performed at the Franklin Elks the other afternoon.

In and out in just under an hour, not too bad at all.

Plus left with snacks...

The BIG THREE O

Pints that is!

I've hit the 30 pint donation mark with my double-red donation yesterday morning!

I'm in the "Gallon" donor club now.

#RestockTheShelves

Gallon Donor Club!

I made another American Red Cross donation yesterday!

Looks like I'm in the "Gallon Donor" club.

I prefer to do double-red donations, This blood drive, which was held at my office, didn't have the equipment for this option so I went old school.  The good news is I was done and disconnected in ~20 minutes.  The bad news is I was only able to donate one pint instead of two.

Outside of springing a leak, as I returned to me desk and soaking my dress shirt sleeve, this donation was uneventful.

Gillette Blood Drive 2014

Double-red blood donation this morning at Gillette Stadium!

It's a great take for sure if for nothing else then to get an inside glimpse of a near empty Gillette Stadium.  There's always Patriot alum and Patriot cheerleader in attendance signing autograph and posing for pictures.

They hold raffles each hour; gift certificates, autographed Patriot memorabilia, game tickets, etc. JoAnne again, just like last year, was a raffle winner!

A good take for a good cause!

Double Reds!

Here I am hooked up to the double-red machine -

Raffle winner board. Check out #3 - 

It's become an annual event for JoAnne, Emilie and I to attend the American Red Cross blood drive hosted at Gillette Stadium. The home of the New England Patriots.

The event is sponsored by Bob's Discount Furniture store. They do a tremendous job too.  They hold hourly raffles for furniture and signed Patriot memorabilia, have special appearances from past Pats players, host the local towns high school cheer leading team AND have always had several Patriot cheerleaders on hand!

And this year was no different!  Joe Andruzzi and Chandler Jones were on hand for pictures and autographs.  Pats cheerleader Rachael was there too signing autographs and mingling with everyone!  The highlight of the morning was when Cathy from Bob's Discount Furniture grabbed her mic and began calling out the names for the first hourly raffle...low and behold she called out "JoAnne Frye"!!!  YUP, JoAnne won a $325.00 gift certificate to Bob's Discount Furniture store, yippee!!

Alright alright, so JoAnne winning the gift certificate was tied with getting Rachael's autograph, hehehe.

Gillette Stadium Blood Donation Day!

This past Saturday (12/10) the American Red Cross, Bob's Discount Furniture store and the 10 & 3 New England Patriots held their annual blood drive at Gillette Stadium. What a great take! The donation and all activities were held in the new "Putnam Club" luxury suite, which overlooks the playing field!!

I made my appointment for first thing in the morning, 8AM, to get there early before the crowd. While I was donating and hooked up to the double-red machine, JoAnne and Emilie were tooling around and taking in the other offerings, i.e. face painting, puppet show, getting autographs and taking pictures with some of the Patriot cheerleaders and retired New England Patriot players - Joe Andruzzi and John Smith.There were all kinds of snacks, hourly raffles to win furniture and autographed Pats items and a great view of the stadium and field.



Here is a picture of Joe Andruzzi's left hand, which is adorned with one of his Superbowl rings, WOW! The three of us each posed for a picture with him and each time he took off his ring and let us put it on, incredible! JoAnne was gonna make a run for it but thought better of it. Wouldn't want him running you down... He was a super nice guy, very personable, and extra special with Emilie when it was her turn for a picture - a class act!

It was an excellent take and all for a good cause too! Can't wait to do it again next year.

Doubled My Donation!

Pumped out another Double Red Cell donation last night.

16 weeks and I'll be ready to go again.

My 1st Blood Donation of 2011

The American Red Cross, Bob's Discount Furniture and the Boston Bruins joined forces for a Blood Drive yesterday. It was held at the TD Garden in downtown Boston, the home of the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics.

I scheduled a 9:00AM appointment to donate, and once again did the Double-Red Cell donation. So, JoAnne, Emilie and I took off for the garden first thing in the morning. After check in I was hurried off to get connected and begin the blood draw. Meanwhile JoAnne and Emilie went upstairs to take in the many kid friendly activities including face painting, balloon artist and puppet show among others.

Blades, the Bruins mascot, Buddy the Blood Drop, the Bruins Ice Girls and the Celtics Dancers were in attendance and available pictures. Also, some past Bruin and Celtic greats were on hand. We met, got autographs and pictures with:

Barry Pederson -

Andy Brickley -

Dana Barros -












It was a good take! We had a great time, got a tour of the locker rooms and in the end was able to help someone with my donation.

ARC - "Day of Remembrance"

OK, I changed things up a little bit and did something nice this past weekend - surprise surprise!

The American Red Cross had a "Day of Remembrance" (Remember those lost so that others may survive) blood drive this past Saturday September 11, 2010 that was held at Fenway Park - home to our Boston Red Sox!

So, I signed up to donate, scheduled a 9:15AM appointment and JoAnne, Emilie and I went in. I did the Double Red Cell donation, which is similar to Whole blood donation, except a machine is used to allow you to safely donate two units of red blood cells while returning your plasma and platelets back to you. This process takes 20 - 30 minutes longer but very much worth it. Also, double red donaters get special treatment. For example, I was moved to the head of the line during the checkin process, then shuffled off to a special area for the donation. At this event the special area was one of six highly priced sky box suites that over looked the ball field on the right field line and each with their own balcony, kitchen, seating area with 50+" flat screen TV and bathroom, WOW! Gives you some insight on how the other half live.

The ball park was a beehive of activity with what looked like a tremendous turnout. The American Red Cross was looking to break the record by collecting 1,000 units of blood - not sure how many units were collected but I'd guess the record was broken.

It was nice to be in the ball park without the chaos of the game day crowds and get to take it all in. It's a beautiful park and the day was picture perfect as you can see below.



Here are the Red Sox (2) world series trophies -

Donate Today!

I gave blood today at work - 1 pint. It's now your turn! Consider yourself officially asked.

One blood donation can help save up to 3 lives. Only 5% of eligible Americans give blood. Every 2 seconds someone in America needs blood. Less than 30% of the people who give blood once will ever give blood again. Donated blood only lasts for 42 days. You can donate blood as many as 6 times a year. There is a 97% chance that someone you know will need a blood transfusion.

Click here to go to The American Red Cross and learn more.