Happy Volunteer Week!

by Debbie Bingham, Volunteer Supervisor and special events designer

Blood Centers of the Pacific wishes all our volunteers “Happy Volunteer Week” this April 18th through 24th as we celebrate the national theme of “Celebrating People in Action.”

In addition to our volunteer blood donors, BCP is honored to have our dedicated volunteers who’re always ready to “take action” whenever and wherever needed. They are an integral part of the lifesaving team supporting BCP in several ways— from helping us keep an eye on the health and safety of our donors after their donation to making deliveries to hospitals to help save patients’ lives.

Volunteers fill several important roles at BCP: canteen hosts, couriers and office assistants. We also have laboratory assistants and mobile blood drive aides. To all of these volunteers and more, BCP takes our hats off to you for your time and talent throughout the year! As the quote by Sherry Anderson goes, “Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.”

Are you interested in volunteering with us here? You can contact Debbie at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to find out more. Or leave a comment on this blog or our Facebook page.

Thank you volunteers! You ARE priceless.

Happy World Health Day

Today is World Health Day! This year’s focus is about calling on cities worldwide to open up their streets to people to promote health activities for one day this week, April 7th through 11th. What better place to enjoy the outdoors than in beautiful Northern California? CNN reports that by 2030, six out of 10 people will live in urban areas. Over 3 billion people live in cities now! Just three years ago in 2007 the world’s population surpassed the 50% mark of people living in cities. It looks like urbanization is here to stay and that it makes it so much more important for us all to find ways to get outside right here where we live.

There’s a Streets Alive event scheduled in San Mateo County for this Sunday April 11th. During this day you can join family, friends and neighbors when streets throughout the County are temporarily closed to cars and opened for people to enjoy being healthy just by walking, biking and enjoying our public places. Or if you’re in San Francisco you can meet your neighbors on Great Highway for a special World Health Day Sunday Streets event on Sunday. What other activities are going on in your community? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page!

You can also still join in on the fun through the World Health Organization by visiting 1000 Cities - 1000 Lives online to find out more.

How will you celebrate?

photo thanks to greenkozi