Media

Nearly $5,000 offered by CBCO donors and staff during Miracle of Giving Blood Drive

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— During the final three weeks of 2009, donors to Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (CBCO) were invited to make an additional contribution to Ozarks Food Harvest during the Miracle of Giving Blood Drive. Four out of five donors opted to forego their own gift of a t-shirt for a chance to feed area families. As a result, CBCO will hand over a check for $4,884.50 on behalf of those donors to Ozarks Food Harvest later this month.

According to The Food Bank, matching funds made available from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks will double the amount of the offering to the only food bank in southwest Missouri, bringing the total donation to nearly ten thousand dollars. Ozarks Food Harvest’s 350 member agencies will benefit from blood donors’ efforts and generosity during the holiday blood drive.

“We started this initiative as a pilot program and were amazed at the results,” said CBCO Executive Director Don Thomson. “Over eighty percent of our donors, when offered the choice of extending their gift of blood to other groups in the area that need help, chose to do just that.  The Ozarks has a history of giving and they took advantage of this opportunity.  I’m proud of the effort, and we’ll be looking for ways to expand this program to help out even more.”

”On behalf of the more than 55,000 children, families and seniors we serve across the Ozarks each month, we thank all CBCO employees and blood donors who gave so selflessly for this collaborative effort,” said Bart Brown, president/CEO at Ozarks Food Harvest. “We’re so pleased to have worked with our friends at the Community Blood Center at this unprecedented time of need, and we look forward to making an impact on our community together again in the future.”

Every one dollar donated to Ozarks Food Harvest provides ten dollars worth of food and services.

# # #

About Ozarks Food Harvest—The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the only food bank in southwest Missouri and serves more than 350 hunger relief organizations, reaching more than 55,000 people each month in twenty-nine Ozarks counties. OFH distributed seven million pounds of food during its last fiscal year—the highest distribution in The Food Bank’s twenty-five year history.  For information on programs and services, visit ozarksfoodharvest.org.

About CBCO
Donors to Community Blood Center of the Ozarks provide blood and blood products topatients at thirty-seven area hospitals.  Every five minutes, an area patient receives blood that was provided by a CBCO donor.  For more information on how to save area lives, contact CBCO at 1-800-280-5337, or log on to www.cbco.org.