“Firefighters are looked at as heroes by the general public but I know another hero that they don’t see. Blood donors are everyday heroes that don’t get much recognition or thanks, but I’m here to tell you thanks over and over again for your effort in saving lives,” said Jeffrey Cool, a retired firefighter from Rescue 3 in the Bronx, New York. He attended the Mega Blood Drive 2015 as a special guest speaker.
Jeffrey shared his gratitude for blood donors who saved his life in 2005 when he had to jump out of a burning building. It took 72 products of blood to help save his life after both his femoral arteries were severed. He shared his story with an auditorium with about 500 volunteers waiting to donate blood at the Mega Blood Drive 2015 hosted by the World Mission Society Church of God for the second year in a row.
Recognizing the shortage of blood in summer months, volunteers of the Church of God rolled up their sleeves once again to help save the lives of people they may never meet.
About 2,000 volunteers traveled to NYU’s Kimmel Center on Sunday, August 9, 2015 coming from as far south as Florida and as far north as New Hampshire. In their signature bright yellow shirts, members gathered early on Sunday at Washington Square Park in New York City’s West Village to commence the day.
Blood donation education
When the phlebotomists from the New York Blood Center and the American Red Cross were ready and the registration tables were set, volunteer donors started coming in and the flow did not stop until late afternoon.
In only seven hours, the two blood centers collected more than 1400 units of blood. For the New York Blood Center, this was something they had never experienced with any other group. The Mega Blood Drive now holds the record for the most blood ever collected in an hour and most double red cells collected in a drive.
“These people that donated the blood that saved my life didn’t think of the race, color or creed of the person that might have used the blood they have. They did it because they knew it could possibly save someone’s life.” Jeffrey Cool understood the mind of those who donate blood.
It’s with this selfless mind that volunteers of the Church of God conduct community service activities and donate blood. Following the mind and heart and the example of Heavenly Mother who spares nothing for her children, Church of God volunteers will continuously work to make the world a better place for all mankind.
