November 16, 2007
St. John's University Vice President for Community Relations,
Joseph Sciame, and Associate Kevin Ryan represented the University
at the New York Blood Center’s Chairman’s Dinner at the Waldorf
Astoria on November 13. This was the first time that St. John’s was
represented at the biennial event, which is held for New York’s top
contributors and was hosted by Yankees broadcaster Suzyn
Waldman.
St. John's University received the 2007 Diamond Award, New York
Blood Center’s highest honor, for collecting 1,246 donations on the
Queens and Staten Island campuses in 2006. Thanks to the
University’s donors, volunteers, and NYBC account manager Carolyn
Cestaro, the collections for 2007 are on pace to exceed last year’s
record.
“St. John’s University has long been a leader in blood donation
among our area universities,” said Andrew Martin, Executive
Director, Long Island Blood Services, a division of New York Blood
Center. “As the demand for blood increases, St. John’s has
responded by hosting blood drives almost every two months.
The support of this university has been vital in helping us
maintain an adequate blood supply for our community.”
The dinner was an opportunity for New York’s most successful
blood drive organizers to exchange ideas, as well as to hear from
speakers whose lives have been saved by blood transfusions or bone
marrow transplants. One honoree was a legally blind man, who takes
a two-hour bus ride to donate blood every 56 days.
“It’s a great credit to our students and staff to be recognized
with an invitation like this,” said Sciame. “It speaks of our
concern for the community, for which we are widely known and we are
very proud of our students and employees for their service,
especially blood donation. They literally give of themselves to
help the sick or injured. It’s something we all think would make
St. Vincent de Paul proud.”
“I’ve spoken with some very interesting people regarding blood
drive initiatives, including leaders of large, successful companies
and institutions,” said Ryan. “They respect St. John's as a great
university and as a Catholic institution that cares about the
community.”
“Some of them ask how we’ve gotten such a high percentage of our
population to donate regularly,” Ryan continued. “We tell them that
St. John’s is unique. It’s a culture of giving, built on the
Vincentian tradition.”
The event was held the night before St. John’s held blood drives
on both the Queens and Staten Island campuses on November 14th.
Another blood drive is scheduled for November 27th on the Queens
campus, in Council Hall.
For more information on St. John’s blood drives, contact:
Queens campus: Office of Community Relations at (718)
990-1941
Staten Island campus: Office of Health and Wellness at (718)
390-4447
For media inquiries, please contact Elizabeth Reilly, Assistant
Director of Media Relations at St. John’s University, by calling
(718) 990-5789 or by e-mail to reillye@stjohns.edu.