Blood Drive in Honor of the Grys Family Designer Rib Hillis to Participate
PEORIA IL – October 24, 2008 - The American Red Cross and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) are honored to partner with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to encourage the community to donate blood and join the bone marrow registry in honor of the Grys family.
Blood drives being held in conjunction with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition building project are:
o Saturday, October 25, Pekin Edison Junior High, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
o Saturday, October 25, Bloodmobile near building site, TBA, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
o Monday, October 27, Bloodmobile near building site, TBA, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All
presenting donors at the school drives on Friday and Saturday will also
have the chance to join the NMDP Registry for free, a savings of $52.
(Please see below for more information about the NMDP.)
Rib, one of the designers from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,
donated blood on Friday at Pekin Edison School. A designer will sign
autographs during the Saturday blood and bone marrow drives.
Eligible
blood donors are encouraged to attend the autograph session, but also
to consider giving an hour of their time to donate blood as a way of
honoring the Grys family during the construction of their new home.
Presenting blood donors will have the opportunity to sign a special poster that will be presented to the Grys family.
In addition, monetary donations will be collected at the blood drives for the Grys family.
Donors
need to be at least 17 years of age , or 16-years-old with a signed Red
Cross parental/guardian consent form where state permits, must weigh at
least 110 pounds and be in general good health. Eligible donors can
call 1.800.GIVE.LIFE or go online to givebloodgivelife.org for more information and to make a blood donation appointment.
General Information About Blood Donation
- Blood
is a perishable product. Red blood cells have a shelf life of only 42
days and platelets just 5 days, so they must be replenished constantly
– there simply is no substitute.
- Under normal circumstances, approximately every 2 seconds someone in America will need a blood transfusion.
- A
recent study suggests that the eligible donor pool is shrinking, with
only about 38 percent of the U.S. population eligible to donate, and
only about 8 percent of those eligible actually donating blood. The
eligible donor pool was previously thought to be 60 percent of the U.S.
population, with 5 percent of those eligible actually donating.
General Information About the NMDP
- Participants
in the NMDP Registry need to be 18 to 60 years old, in good health and
willing to join the registry for any patient in need.
- A tissue sample will be taken by buccal swab; a technique that uses a cotton swab inside the mouth to collect cheek cells.
- Joining the NMDP Registry will take 20 to 30 minutes.
- If
someone has been deferred from donating blood, they may still be
eligible for the NMDP Registry. The NMDP staff will make eligibility
determinations.
- Once
someone joins the NMDP, they do not have to be retested. The results
will stay in the NMDP Registry until the donor turns 61 years old.
Media Instructions: Please note the following:
- The site is a closed Construction set. Media will have a tent on-site for event coverage.
- To obtain a press credential (badge), all media must visit the clearly marked media tent. At the tent, each media representative will need to show station/publication credentials and photo identification
- Press badges must be clearly displayed at all times
- You must wear closed toe shoes at all times
- Interviews
with the builders, designers and project managers are an excellent way
to supplement your story with visuals and human interest angles. Interviews can be scheduled through the duration of the project. All interviews must be scheduled through the media contacts (listed above). Attempts to interview on-site without permission will result in loss of access to the site.
Photos will be posted daily on the Build the Dream website www.DesignBuiltHomesExtreme.com and are available for download. The pictures on the site will have prior approval for media usage once they are available on the site. Photo credits will be noted on the sites and attribution must be included with any photos used.
For show photos, please log onto www.abcmedianet.com to view available photos. Journalists must be registered at the site to download pictures and there are instructions on the site on how to do that. “After” photos are available at 9:00 p.m. PT following the Sunday episode. For general photo requests, e-mail images’ file #s to photo.request@abc.com. Any questions, contact the ABC Photo Request Line at 1-818-460-6611.
Daily press briefings will be hosted by various members of the build team each morning at 10:00 am. Daily
press briefings will include progress and projects completed during the
day and evening before, and expected activity for the current day. Also – any interest stories, unique challenges and humorous anecdotes will be shared!
Daily
releases will be distributed on-site in the media tent and via email,
and will be posted on the Design Built Homes blog/updates website at www.extrememakeoverupdates.com. If
you would like to ensure that you are on the email list, please make a
request at the media tent or subscribe to the blog/updates website.
We suggest journalists bring their own supplies if they plan to be on-site for long periods of time. Shuttles will transport you between parking and the site.
About EMHE
“Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition,” which has won back-to-back Emmy Awards as Best
Reality Program (non-competitive), is entering its 6th season on ABC.
The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Anthony Dominici is the executive producer; and David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.
About Design Built Homes
Design
Built Homes is a third-generation builder. Its mission is to create
lasting relationships with its customers by providing exceptional
service, before and after the sale, and by building energy efficient
homes with excellent value within your budget.
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Mozell Miley: ABC publicist Jonathan Hogan: ABC publicist Christine Shay: Builder publicist
P: 212-456-6444 P: 818/460-7016 M: 309.840.3702
P: 309.740.9717
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