Give a Pint...for my Half-Pint!

A year and a half ago, some stranger felt led, went to Blood Assurance, and gave a donation, never knowing it would be for my son in his time of need.  We wish we could thank this person.  We will never know who gave this gift to my son.  But we can give this gift to another.

Many of you may have seen or been invited to our Facebook event hosted by my 2 dear childhood friends, Jackie (Money) Smith, and Ruth (Vaupel) Tarwacki.  It is both a virtual (wherever you are across the miles), and on site Blood Drive to raise awareness for the critical need for blood donors and for BRBNS and its children's desperate need for blood transfusions.  Jacob has already been the recipient of one blood transfusion, and is likely to need many more over the course of his life.  This blood drive is our way of thanking blood assurance and its donors, as well as "paying it forward" for the day when Jacob needs it again.

We are hoping that wherever you are, sometime next week, you go to your local Blood Assurance and donate in honor of Jacob and his battle with BRBNS.  You simply need to give his blood assurance # which is BA#657227 and it will show that your donation is in his honor.  If in Chattanooga, you can give at any Blood Assurance all week, or you can come to the on site drive at Silverdale Baptist Church on Wednesday, April 30 from 3-8pm.  If you live in South Bend, IN, you can give there at the local drive on May 1.  We are so excited about this and hope all of you that are able will consider giving.   Also, in 24 hours, we leave for Boston for Jacob's next treatment at Boston Children's Hospital, thanks to our friends at Miracle Flights for Kids.  Jacob will be having surgery again on Wednesday, April 30, and it will encourage our hearts for everyone to rally around him next week by giving blood.  Take a picture of yourself giving, or of your "pint" and post it to the event's Facebook page so we can see!  Hope to see many "pint selfies" next week!  

Jacob's Pint, October 31, 2012

In addition, for those who desire to do more, my friends have graciously set up a t-shirt fundraiser to help us with travel expenses for our upcoming trips to Boston with Jake.  If you feel led, you may buy a shirt as well, as the link is on the FB event page, or from this link:   

Jacob's Blood Drive "Give a Pint, Save a Half-Pint"

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/jacobs-blood-drive

But more than anything, we want to be clear that our primary goal is to flood Blood Assurance with donations in honor of our Jake.  We remember all to clearly how our sweet boy looked and felt when severely anemic prior to his transfusion...

Through the gift of blood donation, his recovery was swift, and he was able to have energy to run and play and be our Jacob.  Help us keep our Jake (and so many other kids) safe and healthy, ready to enjoy "Today's Miracle." As always, thank you for your support and keep praying for our boy, especially tomorrow as we travel, and in the coming week.