WolvesCare Month Celebrates Memorial Blood Centers
The Memorial Blood Centers was honored during the Timberwolves home game against the New Orleans Pelicans this week.
In January, C.H. Robinson and the Minnesota Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation celebrates WolvesCare month and turns their attention to some of the Wolves’ smallest and toughest fans – children suffering life-threatening or chronic illnesses.
The first organization honored in the New Year was The Memorial Blood Centers, which was honored during Wednesday night.
The Memorial Blood Centers organization is dedicated to saving lives by providing blood and biomedical solutions. Each year, about 1 in every 500 African American infants are born with sickle cell disease. Blood transfusions are used to provide relief from the pain.
“As the message spreads people can be more responsive about it; they understand the sickle cell disease. They understand how it impacts not just the lives of those living with the disease, but how they too can make a difference in those lives,” Rae Blaylark explained.
Minnesota Timberwolves President Chris Wright and C.H. Robinson representative, Amber Ellis, were on hand to present a $5,000 check to CEO Donald Berglund and program supporters Rae and Treyvon Blaylark.
“The money donated tonight is going to be used to help screen blood donors, to find those who have the right characteristics in their blood to support sickle cell disease,” Berglund said.
In the past year, the Minnesota Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation and the Minnesota Lynx Foundation have combined to impact 2,028 organizations with $750,000 in-kind donations, 60,000 Tickets for Kids donations, 4,226 volunteer hours, 45 Heroes in the Making on-court presentations and fourteen $5,000 grants.