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Dozens Turn Out at HOF to Donate Blood

Street Kids Softball players and members of the community brave the cold

South Bend-

The blood supply in St. Joseph County is low. So members of the Street Kids Softball team, in cooperation with the College Football Hall of Fame and the South Bend Medical Foundation, organized the 2007 Street Kids Care/HOF Blood Drive. The event was held Friday at the Hall of Fame in South Bend on a cold day, but the warm hearts of many people in Michiana provided a future for so many down the road who will need blood.

Street Kids Care, the charitable division of the softball organization, began working with the Hall of Fame and the SBMF several weeks ago to make this event happen. Several people braved the cold weather and came out to the Hall of Fame to donate their blood, with hopes of one day saving a life.

“The great thing is they already saved lives just by donating,” said Jeanna Pugh of the SBMF. “For every one person that donates blood, you are potentially saving three lives. This is a wonderful event.”

Among the many who donated was Mishawaka police officer Jeremy Tyler, who came prior to his work shift Friday afternoon.

“This is definitely and important event,” said Officer Tyler. “I think that everyone would agree that if one of your loved ones was injured that they would want enough blood on supply.

Donations are typically down in the winter, so the Street Kids Care team decided to step up. Several team members were on hand during Friday’s blood drive to donate, knowing that every little bit counts.

“It feels good to be part of a team that helps others,” said Tony Hardiman, a player on the Street Kids Softball team. “How do I feel about donating my blood today? I know that somewhere down the line what I did here today will help someone maybe live a little longer. That makes me feel good.”

Other players agreed.

“It was fun today,” said SKS outfielder Chad Doan, who also donated. “It’s good to do something that helps the community.”

The Street Kids Care team has done many things in the past couple of years with intent to help others in need. They took part in the Relay for Life, walking in the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk in South Bend, and they also helped raise money for Sarah Clay, the former Mishawaka High School athlete who underwent stem cell surgery in Portugal last year. There are more plans in the making for 2007 and beyond.

“We have lots of things we want to do in the future,” said Courtney Jorgensen, Street Kids Care organizer. “We are going to be getting involved with Corvilla, who put on the snowball softball tournament a couple of weeks ago, as they do more in the community. We are also looking at plans to work with Hannah’s and Friends here in South Bend. There are lots of things we want to do, but the guys also have a busy softball schedule this year as well.”

Fox 28 News and WNDU-TV both came out to the Blood Drive on Friday and were featured on the evening news. To see the video highlight from WNDU, click here. Once you get to the WNDU page, click on the link that starts “Athletes Participate in Blood Drive”. You can also view additional video footage, including a video montage of the entire blood drive by clicking here.