For the past three years, the Pennington community has come together to donate blood in honor of Caroline Doyle, a brave little girl who happens to be quite resilient.

At this year’s blood drive held on Valentine’s Day, donors were given a meaningful thank you note from Caroline’s family. One note, which bears a little painted footprint, reads “Thank you for donating blood in honor of my big sister.” This is from Caroline’s 4-month-old baby sister Nina. The rest of the note draws you in with Caroline’s story and is sure to serve as a beautiful reminder of how important a donor’s blood donation is.

At just 2 ½ years old Caroline was diagnosed with B-cell leukemia, an aggressive form of bone marrow and blood cancer. Throughout her fight with leukemia, Caroline required more than 30 platelet and whole blood transfusions. Thankfully, at the age of five, Caroline is now in full remission!

Her family writes,

^{_{“We are indebted to all of the anonymous blood donors who gave her the critical blood cells and platelets she needed to be strong enough to continue her chemotherapy treatments.”}}

Local pediatrician and blood drive host Rachel Farrington reflected on the first blood drive.

“It was such an incredible outpouring of support! We realized what it means to every patient when we decided to make it an annual event,” she said. “It’s really an incredible day of the community coming together and helping kids like Caroline.”

This year, donors from the community and Rachel’s medical practice lovingly rolled up their sleeves and donated a total of 60 units of lifesaving blood. Donors included the Martinez Family of Pennington. Parents Kristen and Miguel took turns donating blood while the other had their hands full with 3-year-old Adeline and baby Valerie. Adeline attends the same pre-school as Caroline and was very proud that her mom and dad were donating blood to help others.

Caroline’s parents expressed in their thank you note, “This drive helps to ensure that children fighting cancer are seen and supported.”

Kim Goetz, Interim Regional Executive of the American Red Cross New Jersey Region attended the drive and spoke to many of the donors.

“Hearing Caroline’s mission and seeing the community support for this drive is very inspiring,” said Kim. “We know that patients are grateful. Drives like this are helping to overcome a severe blood shortage, ensuring that blood is on hospital shelves when patients need it. We appreciate all the donors who came out today in honor of Caroline.”

The Need Is Urgent

Right now, the American Red Cross is experiencing a severe blood shortage. Harsh winter weather has led to the cancellation of hundreds of blood drives, and snow and ice have made it more difficult to transport vital blood products to hospitals.

Please consider making an appointment to donate blood or platelets. You can schedule by using the Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). All who donate through February 28, 2026, will receive a $20 e-gift card to a merchant of choice. Details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/Heart.

Host a Blood Drive

If your organization is interested in hosting a blood drive, contact the Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767. Red Cross staff manage the logistics with minimal impact on daily operations.