Pelham Manor Firehouse Hosts Blood Drive

With the fire trucks parked on the street and the garage transformed into a donation center, Pelham Manor Fire Department hosted a blood drive on Saturday, an annual event that draws not only people in the Pelham Manor community to come out and donate, but some of the firemen themselves who work and volunteer there.

 The blood drive was coordinated by the Sound Shore Medical Center. The medical facility works with many municipalities around Westchester, putting on about 41 blood drives a year.

"It’s a matter of educating the younger people of how important donating blood is,” said Dean Reben, who volunteers for Sound Shore during the blood drives and the hospital's emergency room.  “The older donors who traditionally donate each year are now in some cases, too old to donate."

Jonathan Kasper, a volunteer fireman for Pelham Manor for nearly 14 years, was the first to donate his blood. While the morning began slowly, more people began streaming in as the afternoon went on.

Sound Shore is constantly in need of blood and counts on volunteer drives to keep up a steady supply for the medical center. Without enough blood from donors, the hospital would have to purchase the blood directly from a blood bank.

With the garage doors open at the firehouse, one donor joked, "next time we need to do this in June or July." Even with the cold March air filtering into the firehouse, volunteers and donors spent the day helping others and making a difference. 

For more information on the Sound Shore Hospital and their next blood drive, click here.