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Southern Region Celebrates Grand Opening of New Donor Center
Thursday, April 08, 2004 — The Southern Region celebrated the grand opening of its newest donor center at the 3rd Annual Minority Recruitment Luncheon on March 25. More than 150 people joined the Red Cross to encourage minorities to donate blood on a regular basis.
Bishop Eddie L. Long, Senior Pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church was the special guest speaker and his inspiring words about the importance of blood donation set the tone for the afternoon. Long also committed his church—which has more than 25,000 members—to host four blood drives each year.
Red Cross representatives and supporters cut the ribbon on a new donor facility in East Point, Ga. |
Other highlights included welcoming comments from Mayor Patsy Jo Hilliard of the city of East Point, and testimonial speakers Aryonna Muhammad, 13, and Andrea Arceneaux-Coleman. Muhammad, who suffers from sickle cell anemia, has been hospitalized more than 40 times since birth. Blood transfusions have allowed her to participate in all of the activities she loves. Coleman, a former news reporter and publisher of Southwest Atlanta Magazine, underwent emergency brain surgery and has also had relatives that needed blood. Her empowering speech motivated the crowd to do their part to ensure an adequate blood supply for all patients.
“We are extremely excited about the results of the luncheon and the grand opening of the Camp Creek Donor Center,” said James Holmes, co-chair of the minority recruitment advisory board. “The attendance, enthusiasm and sincere interest on the part of the attendees at both events clearly go above and beyond all of our expectations.”
The new donor center is approximately 2,900 square feet. This state-of-the-art facility was created so that current and future donors in South Fulton County have a more convenient location to give blood. The handsome new center, which also will provide a comfortable and relaxed environment for blood donation, opens for regular hours in late April. The Southern Region’s focus on increasing the number of African Americans who donate blood motivated the choice of location for this latest donor center.
Artist Monica Tookes presents her work, titled “The Power is in You,” to Southern Region CEO Chris Hrouda. The painting will hang in the new Camp Creek Donor Center. |
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