March 2017 Donor Newsletter

The Current State of Things…

At the start of each month we will be updating you on where our inventory levels are at. As we continue to experience higher than usual usage from several of our partner hospitals, we urge you to remember to donate as soon as you are eligible.

To help with donor turnout, we’ve planned some new and exciting promotions throughout the year, which means you’ll continue to hear from us a lot more than usual! Make sure you’ve updated your preferences in the Communication tab of your donor portal. If you haven’t already opted in to recieve text messages from us, text BLOOD to 444-999 to do so. You’ll earn 50 points toward the CBB point store when you opt-in!

Don’t forget to follow us on social media as well! You can find us on:

Facebook: Community Blood Bank

Twitter: @OurDonorsSave

Instagram: communitybloodbank

By now you may have been contacted by Incept, a company that is helping us fill our appointment schedules for our Erie Donor Center as well as our mobile drives. We understand that this has been an adjustment, and appreciate your patience as we continue to make adjustments. We heard your feedback about the frequency with which they were calling and want to assure you that this has been corrected. Have additional feedback, concerns or questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact us! Thanks to this initiative, we have welcomed back many lapsed and super-lapsed donors … some of whom haven’t donated since the 1990s! We’re so happy to see you again!

A Quick Reminder…

A few of you reached out to us about not receiving your Donor Card after your first donation, and we just wanted to remind you that this practice was retired when we began using the Donor Portal. Once you’ve created your profile all of the same information from your Donor Card will be available to you via the portal … and more!

 Highmark Walk

Team and walker registration for the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community are now open! Visit http://hcf.convio.net/communitybloodbank to register as a walker, start your team, or make a donation. Make sure you keep your eye out for emails regarding this year’s fundraising events, additional walk details and challenges!

The walk is scheduled for Saturday, June 3 at Beach 11 on Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pa. Registration begins at 7:45 a.m., the 5K kicks off at 9 a.m. and the 1-mile fun run (or walk) kicks off at 9:15 a.m! There is no registration, however a $30 donation will automatically get you a t-shirt from Highmark!

Last year was our first year participating in the walk and our generous supporters helped us raise more than $5,700 toward the purchase of an additional bloodmobile/replacement for our Turtle Top so we can reach even more donors in Northwest PA & Western NY!

2016 CBB Highmark Walk Team

The Point Store: New Items Coming Soon!

Congratulations to Richard Johannesmeyer, the winner of our $100 gift card in January! Interested in winning? One winner is selected at random from our point store drawing each month, you can enter as many times as you’d like each month OR you can redeem your points for something tangible like a coffee mug, t-shirt, or gift card. Your points are yours to use as you’d like.

Keychains arriving this month! Check in later this month as our first batch of new items makes it’s debut! These keychains will help you tell the world whether your donate blood or platelets, and we think you’ll like them just as much as we do!

You’re familiar with our ever-changing inventory of gift cards, and by now you probably have at least one mug and several t-shirts. In an effort to keep the Point Store interesting, we will be adding new items throughout the year. Have an idea for something you’d like to see? Email nicole.hornaman@fourhearts.org to have your idea considered!

And don’t forget, even if you haven’t created your Donor Portal account you are still earning points! Community Blood Bank staff is happy to assist you in creating an account or redeeming your points.

Happy shopping! 

As a reminder, points are added once data entry is completed, which may be done the following day. If you don’t see your points increase after a day or two (or by Tuesday if you donated the previous Saturday) please call the blood bank at 1-877-842-0631. Donors earn points even if they have not created an online account.