Kare Bears’ First Vice President Rochelle Zuckerbrow (center) accepted the award. She is pictured with broadcasting legend Pat McMahon, left, and on the right is Vitalant’s Southwest Division Vice President Sid Lewis.
On Feb. 24, Vitalant, a nonprofit organization that provides blood and blood products and services across the United States, presented the Impact Award to PebbleCreek Kare Bears in recognition of Kare Bears’ contribution to their blood bank. Vitalant, formerly known as United Blood Services, has been the exclusive blood supplier for Arizona for over 75 years. Vitalant supplies 100% of the blood to all hospitals in Maricopa County and serves 95% of all hospitals in Arizona. The event was emceed by Mark Curtis of Arizona Family News, and Kare Bears’ first Vice President Rochelle Zuckerbrow represented our community to accept the award.
During 2022, through four blood drives in PebbleCreek, Kare Bears collected 165 donations, saving up to 495 lives in our community. PebbleCreek has partnered with Vitalant to provide this essential service for several years and we will continue to count on the generosity of all the donors in PebbleCreek to help replenish their blood bank. One-fourth of all blood collected goes to patients during cancer treatment. Cancer patients need blood products to fight the disease. Red blood cells collected from donors are only good for 42 days; platelets for only 5 days. Since the pandemic, the number of donors has dropped 20%, leading to the current severe blood shortage.
We are proud of this service and of the contributions from our community. We hope this award will be an incentive for our residents to join us at the next blood drive scheduled for April 25 in Eagle’s Nest Palm Room, and help save lives. For more information on our blood drives, please go to our website at karebears.org.