Giving Tuesday is an annual worldwide movement that encourages people to donate money to worthy causes.
AllOne Foundation and Charities will raise funds for 78 local health nonprofits, matching the first $1,000 raised for each one. The foundation is asking people to give blood in addition to money this year, recognizing a need for more blood donations in the region.
Blood shortage
Mary Carroll Donahoe, chief program officer at AllOne, says the organization learned of a national and local blood shortage and wanted to bring attention to it.
"As a health foundation and a health organization, we look to raise the awareness of the health issues and help these organizations make a difference on the health issues that plague our region,” she said.
Lina Barbieri is chief philanthropy officer at Miller-Keystone Blood Center, which serves 21 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
“There is a real blood shortage,” she said. “It is a national issue. There has been a blood shortage since COVID. What was once a seven-day stock on the shelves is now a two-day stock.”
Barbieri said the need in this region is a lot greater than the amount of donations.
“We are delivering to our hospital partners in that region ten times more blood than we’re actually collecting from the community,” Barbieri said. “What we want to make sure is that there is a balance.”
During the week of Giving Tuesday, Miller-Keystone will host six blood drives around Northeast Pennsylvania in hopes of boosting the local supply.
AllOne's online Give Day campaign this year includes blood drive information and encourages people to roll up their sleeves to help.
Toyota of Scranton Blood Drive
On Giving Tuesday, Dec. 2, Toyota of Scranton will host a blood drive in honor of two people close to employees of the business.
John Santiago, a body shop mechanic, said his daughter Adalee was diagnosed with Leukemia at nine years old. Now in her second year of treatment, she is in a maintenance phase.
“As a parent, it’s tough. Sometimes you have to swallow that pain and not cry in front of your kids,” he said. “I just want her to live a normal life. So I come to work like nothing’s happening, I try to forget about everything.”
Only a few months after Adalee’s diagnosis, Santiago’s coworker John Nesbitt learned that his wife Mary had the same illness.
“It happened quick,” Nesbitt said. “She was doing very well, she had a bone marrow transplant, which required more blood, and everything just went downhill.”
Mary Nesbitt died in October of this year.
“It was just crazy how my daughter got diagnosed first and then… a couple months later we found out [John’s] wife had it,” Santiago said. “It felt kind of like a virus spreading. It was weird. And it made me sad because I know the pain of someone you love going through something that you can’t control.”
The colleagues learned to rely on their work family. Nesbitt said he felt supported even when he was with his wife receiving treatment in New York.
“We were there for five weeks, and somebody from here called me every day,” he said. “Just to say, ‘Are you doing okay?’ ‘Do you need anything?’”
The dealership is now asking the community for support to provide a blood supply that will help people like Adalee and Mary in this region.
“We’re ecstatic about it. It’s good to see people come together in tough times,” Santiago said. “I know we’re not the only family suffering through this.”
Miller-Keystone Blood Drives
- Nov. 30: Christ Hamilton United Lutheran Church in Stroudsburg
- Dec. 1: Progressive Rehab in Milford
- Dec. 2: Toyota of Scranton
- Dec. 2: St. Luke's Hospital Carbon Campus
- Dec. 2: Providence Place of Drums
- Dec. 3: Miller-Keystone Pittston Donor Center
To find organizations seeking support for Giving Tuesday through AllOne Give Day, visit this list.
