[Fredslist] A chance to give the gift of life

[Scott Bloom]

Good reminder, Anthony. Those of that gave blood during Gotham donation drive (or earlier) are now eligible to give again. Am doing so today at 200w57th street. 15th floor. 12:45pm. 

Scott Bloom - Blackberry # 917-327-2109

-----Original Message-----
From: fredslist-bounces at gothamnetworking.com <fredslist-bounces at gothamnetworking.com>
To: fredslist at gothamnetworking.com <fredslist at gothamnetworking.com>
Sent: Mon Nov 30 10:33:20 2009
Subject: [Fredslist] A chance to give the gift of life

I send this in the hope that someone can help Jennifer Austin-Jones (or someone else).  I worked with Jennifer when I was in the City at Agenda for Children Tomorrow.  She is an amazing force in child advocacy in NYC. Rather than re-write this whole e-mail I forward someone else's:

 

Jennifer a beautiful, healthy and active wife, mother, daughter and sister was unexpectedly stricken with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in September a few days before her 41st birthday.  Doctors have said that her chances of surviving the disease are slim unless she can undergo a bone marrow transplant within the next few months. Before this disease touched my life, I had no idea that a simple Q-Tip cheek swab is all that is needed to determine if you can save a person's life; In this case, Jen’s. Note that if you are a match, the donation process is as simple as giving blood - it no longer requires a surgical procedure.

In fact the term bone marrow transplant is outdated, it is actually a stem cell transplant that comes from donating blood.

Under normal circumstances Jennifer would be like all of us, preparing for the holiday season.  Figuring out what she is going to get for Christmas for Shawn, her husband of 14 years and their two beautiful children (a daughter age 12 and a son about to turn 8).  The youngest of her four siblings, Jen is often the center of family activities.

Jennifer is the type of person who will spend as much attention to the details on her daughter’s swim themed birthday cake as she will drafting a policy statement to ensure that healthy foods are available in local urban neighborhoods.

Jen is an accomplished child advocate and has dedicated herself for over 20 years professionally as an attorney in the private and public sectors.  She attended Rutgers University and Fordham Law School. She is a member of the Brooklyn Chapter of Jack and Jill Inc. and is a long time and dedicated member of the Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn, where her father, the late Rev. Williams Augustus Jones II served as pastor for over 40 years. She serves on many boards and civic organizations. Jen is wise beyond her years, funny, and always willing to listen. She is an amazing person and is greatly loved by many.

Yes, Jennifer is one of us.  And now Jen needs us.  During this season of giving I am asking you to help save a life, Jen’s or another person’s loved one by registering with the Be The Match Registry.

You can help Jennifer by becoming a registered donor with the Be The Match Registry and being tested to determine if you are a compatible match with her.  We also need your help in reaching as many people as possible to ask them to be tested for compatibility.  Our collective goal is to register at least 1000 people before the end of the year.

The Be The Match Registry is in great need of registered donors, especially those of African and Hispanic descent. Unfortunately, because African Americans and Hispanics are dramatically underrepresented in the National Bone Marrow Registries, White people have a 92+% chance of finding a match while African Americans have less than half of that chance of finding a match in the current pool of donors.  In fact there are more than 5 Million white registrants but only about 500,000 of African descent.

Starting next week we are going to be hosting a set of bone marrow drives around the country.  Thus far, in New York there are two drives planned. One in Manhattan at the Abyssinian Baptist Church on Sunday, December 6, from 11:00-2:00 pm located at 132 Odell Clarke Place, 138th Street between Lenox Ave and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd, New York, NY (212) 862-7474.  And one at Bethany Baptist Church on Sunday, December 13 from 9:00-3:00 pm located at 460 Marcus Garvey Blvd, Brooklyn, NY (718) 455-8400. There will be other drives in different parts of New Jersey and in Cleveland, Ohio and others are being coordinated.  Please see the attachments.

If you cannot make it to a drive, please register yourself and others as donors by going online to http://join.marrow.org/JJA1068.  Note that the "promo code" is JJA1068. You can receive an at-home testing kit without charge.

Please also forward this e-mail (or your own personal note) and the attached flyer to your friends, colleagues, churches and synagogues, organization affiliations, etc., and ask them to register and be tested for compatibility.  If you have ideas about, and contacts with, organizations that would be willing to host drives please also let me know.  EVERY PERSON MATTERS.  Even if you don't match with Jennifer, you may match another and help save a life.

There are few opportunities where a simple act can save a person’s life. I know that everyone is busy getting ready for the holidays but let‘s go into this holiday season with a sense of urgency around helping to save Jennifer’s life.

 

 

 



Anthony J. Barbieri
DESIGNER SIGN SYSTEMS
352 Washington Avenue
Carlstadt, NJ    07072
Tel: (201) 939-5577 Ext 133
Fax: (201) 939-7043
www.dss-nj.com 

 

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