THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 28, 1997 TAG: 9701280014
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 29 lines
Each year in December, the American Red Cross blood program approaches four local media groups to sponsor key blood drives. Each year, WAVY TV-10, WCMS 100.5 FM, WVEC TV-13 and WWDE 101.3 FM step up to volunteer their support of the community blood program.
Because of their dedication, each blood drive experienced a 25 percent to 38 percent increase in participation.
This year, with the holidays falling on consecutive Wednesdays, the American Red Cross was very concerned about meeting local blood needs, especially for platelets, which have only a five-day shelf life. Because of the dedication of these sponsors to alerting the public of vital blood needs, and the volunteer blood donors who attended the drives, hospital needs were met.
I thank these groups for their extra efforts during a critical and hectic time of the year.
PAUL REGAL
Chief executive officer
American Red Cross
Mid-Atlantic Regional
Blood Services
Norfolk, Jan. 10, 1997