Archives for December 2009

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010! - 2009 12 30

by Nora Hirschler, MD, President of BCP, Marin Resident and Foreign Film Buff

This has been a long, but wonderful year at Blood Centers of the Pacific. Two-thousand nine marks our tenth anniversary of affiliating with Blood Systems, the nation’s second largest blood collection organization.

Two-thousand nine also saw us finally jump in to the world of social media!  We started talking to people on Twitter and sharing photos through our Flickr page.  And thanks to all of our friends on Facebook, we surpassed 1,500 fans! We’ve also had some great conversations on our wall, gotten to share links and videos with our donors, used the Events tab to broadcast information about our blood drives, and learned a lot from those who matter most - our donors. Plus who can forget this photo, created by one of our fans:

We also had a number of special events in 2009. Back in June, we partnered with Novartis and the American Red Cross to celebrate World Blood Donor Day, with a week long blood drive at various locations and several fabulous raffle prizes. This fall, Daniel Riggins gave blood and got smart, as in a Smart Car in our September Smart Car giveaway. We also got to reward our donors with ice cream, Exotic Erotic ball tickets, and creepy Blood Energy Potion drinks during certain time periods this year.

There have been plenty of challenges this year both for us as a blood center and for the rest of the our community. Thankfully our generous blood donors have continued to be Everyday Heroes. Thank you to all of our blood donors, blood drive coordinators, employees, and the rest of our advocates for the cause of blood donation for your support this year and we look forward to continuing to work together to save lives in 2010!

Happy New Year!

Every Time a Bell Rings - 2009 12 22

by Ashley Messick, Social Media Specialist, hot chocolate connoisseur, and holiday movie lover

I still remember watching It’s A Wonderful Life every holiday season as a kid. It’s surprising that an old black and white movie, with actors rather than cartoon characters and a storyline a little older than my years, held my attention each year. For awhile we could watch only when it came on tv and then I remember my dad getting the movie one year so we could pop it in whenever we liked. It’s funny though that even though we had that movie all year round, it was only around the holidays that we would crowd onto the couch to see George Bailey relive the same lesson as he did the year before.

For many, the most memorable quote of It’s A Wonderful Life is during the scene at the very end, when George scoops up little Zuzu and upon hearing the ringing of a bell she says:

Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.

It’s the happy ending that leaves us feeling joyful and restores our faith in mankind and in ourselves. I’ll be honest though, the scene that always sticks in my mind the most is more serious:

[George has discovered his brother Harry’s tombstone]
Clarence: [ explaining] Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine.
George Bailey: That’s a lie! Harry Bailey went to war - he got the Congressional Medal of Honor, he saved the lives of every man on that transport.
Clarence: Every man on that transport died! Harry wasn’t there to save them, because you weren’t there to save Harry.

The message of It’s A Wonderful Life is this: we often forget the impact that our lives have on others. This holiday season I’m really not sure what more direct appeal for blood donation we can have than that exact message. Your life-saving gift will forever change someone else’s life. In turn, who knows what they may do for the world.

So from all of us at Blood Centers of the Pacific: Happy Holidays and thank you for the gift you give by being a blood donor.