The Blood Bank of Delmarva will hold its inaugural Anchor on the Roof initiative scheduled for Thursday, July 6 at the Christiana Donor Center with NBC10 Delaware Bureau Reporter Tim Furlong.
The summer period from Memorial Day through Labor Day represents a challenging period, with school breaks, family vacations and the holidays known to take a toll on blood collections. This includes the Fourth of July critical period. Encouraging blood donations during this difficult summer period with a new and fun initiative is a creative way to encourage new blood donors to step-up and save a life.
Anchor on the Roof was an out-of-the-box promotion that BBD Director, Donor Resources Nicole Pineault and Account Manager Bryan Shepherd learned about at the ADRP Annual Conference held in Phoenix, Arizona in May 2022. LifeShare in Baton Rouge, Louisiana put a local anchor on the root until they collected hundreds of units in a fun way.
“Instead of our usual messaging, we are trying something fun to encourage more donors,” BBD Vice President Emily Cunningham said. “We are excited to have NBC reporter Tim Furlong come on Thursday and park himself on the roof until one hundred donors come through our doors. Come help Tim get off the roof sooner rather than later – I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to sleep up there! Everyone knows Tim and we are hoping they will come out, donate, and say hi to him while they are here!”
Furlong is a native of the Greater Philadelphia area and lives in Wilmington; he loves reporting the news of his beloved Delaware. Prior to joining NBC10 in 2005, Tim graduated from American University in Washington D.C. He is also an alumnus of Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware.
He plans to begin his stay on the BBD roof at 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Call 1-888-8-BLOOD-8 or visit www.DelmarvaBlood.org to make an appointment on Thursday!
All presenting donors in the Christiana and Concord sites will receive a drink koozie and All-Star T-shirt, and those who want to say hi and snap a picture with Tim are welcome to do so.