Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
9/11 Memorial blood donor drive surpasses goal
Molinaro thanks 447 Islanders who far exceeded goal of 274 pints
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President James P. Molinaro today thanked the 447 Staten Islanders who gave “the gift of life” at his seventh September 11th Blood Donor Drive, far exceeding the goal of 274 pints – one for each Staten Island victim of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
“I’m very proud that on the eighth anniversary of 9/11, Staten Islanders came out in record numbers to give the gift of life as a way of paying tribute to our lost loved ones,” said Molinaro.
For the seventh straight year, Molinaro held a blood drive last week across the Borough to honor the memory of Staten Islanders killed on 9/11. The goal was to collect 274 pints – one for each victim, including Stephen Knapp, who was killed in the 1993 bombing of the Twin Towers.
“This year we far exceeded our goal of 274 pints and collected almost 100 pints more than last year’s total of 351,” said Molinaro. “Even last Friday’s storm didn’t deter Islanders from coming to Borough Hall for the last day of the drive to donate 50 pints alone. I’m confident that next year we can make it to 500.
“These 447 pints will go a long way to helping our hospitals that have been stretched thin over the summer, a traditionally slow time for blood donations,” Molinaro added. “As I’ve said before, the simple process of giving blood can save the life of a relative, a friend or a neighbor.”
Brooklyn/Staten Island Blood Services operates a donation site in the Pergament Mall at 2791 Richmond Avenue (above Verizon Wireless) in New Springville. It is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Saturday. To make an appointment to donate blood, call 1-800-933-2566, or go to www.nybloodcenter.org.
September 14, 2009