Stephen Wise Temple and Schools’ community blood drive on Thursday was a massive success, collecting 30 units of blood for the Red Cross.
“Wise Temple is our ‘rock’ of the Hill and big lifesavers for us this season,” said Red Cross account manager Nina Minton. “The units we collected on Wednesday truly helped our supply during this ‘Big Need’ holiday shortage. We can’t thank you and our community enough for your overwhelming support in our partnership.”
In the face of the nation’s worst blood shortage in a decade, and a slow holiday blood donation season, 29 registered donors gave blood in the Udko Room of our Sanctuary building, including seven first-time donors. The drive brought temple and school staff, parents, and community members together in one act of tikkun olam. One father said that he brought his son specifically to teach him about the mitzvah of giving blood.
The 30 units collected (including two Power Red donations) surpassed the drive’s goal, and bring Wise’s yearlong total to 55 units.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephen Wise Temple blood drives have collected 271 units of blood. With each unit capable of saving up to three lives, Wise has donated enough blood to save up to 813 lives.
For more ways to give back this Hanukkah season, visit our Hanukkah Tikkun Olam page.
