The Blood Bank of Delmarva will hold the inaugural Love for Lisa Boyer Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 15 at the Delaware Saungerbund & Library Association near Christiana.
This blood drive being held in memory of Lisa Schmalbach Boyer is being coordinated by Dean Dyer, Pete Boyer, Judy Ariganello, Kim Habbert, Gretchen Loose and Christie Murphy. They are working with BBD Account Manager Mary Moore for what they hope will be an annual event. Dean is Manager, Enterprise Collaboration Systems for New York Blood Center Enterprises, parent company of the Blood Bank of Delmarva.
Lisa was an athletic trainer who previously worked with Dean and his wife, Rebecca, at ATI Physical Therapy. She was one of those larger-than-life, gregarious people who was always laughing and was always fun to be around. Lisa also worked with a number of local high schools.
Tragically, she passed away after a battle with leukemia.
“We were shocked,” Dean said. “We didn’t know how bad off she was. It hit us hard. We processed it, and one my former coworkers was saying that while Lisa was ill, they had donated blood here [at BBD] for people like her.”
That inspired Dean to organize a blood drive that would help people experiencing an illness like Lisa went through. When he called Lisa’s widower, Pete, he loved the idea and told how Lisa, during her treatments, wasn’t always able to get all the blood she needed due to blood supply shortage. They proceeded with him, and some of Lisa’s closest friends to work with Mary to schedule the Love for Lisa Blood Drive set for Sunday.
They hope this is the first of many.
The Delaware Saungerbund is home of the famous, annual Oktoberfest.
Book an appointment or call 1-888-8-BLOOD-8.