West Chester library, Blood Center team up for monthly blood drives

HOW TO GO

WHAT: Thanksgiving week blood drive

WHERE: MidPointe West Chester Library, 9363 Centre Pointe Drive

WHEN: 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25

MORE INFO: All who register to donate for Wednesday's blood drive get a "Buckeye Blood Donor" football T-shirt in honor of the upcoming Ohio State-Michigan game. Donors are encouraged to schedule an appointment online at www.DonorTime.com and use sponsor code 1479 or call 1-800-388-GIVE.

Blood donation requirements:

Past CBC donors are also asked to bring their CBC donor ID card. Individuals with eligibility questions are invited to email canidonate@cbccts.org or call 1-800-388-GIVE.

MidPointe Library West Chester is teaming up with Community Blood Center to make the library a destination place for monthly blood drives and more.

“We were looking for an opportunity for a monthly blood drive,” said Bill Roy, CBC account representative for Butler, Warren and Clinton counties. “MidPointe was also looking for more opportunities to be a hub of community activity. We connected and discussed it. Once they heard about it, they were all for it.”

The new monthly blood drive partnership started in October when the library hosted its first blood drive on a CBC Bloodmobile. Starting with an in-house blood drive this coming Wednesday, all blood drives will take place in the West Chester Community Room from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

The effort also is aimed at showing that MidPointe Library West Chester, 9363 Centre Pointe Drive, is “not just about the books,” according to librarian Martha Matthews, who serves as blood drive coordinator.

“We hope people will come here to meet their neighbors, not just because they want something to read,” Matthews said. “We’re happy to tell people we’re not a quiet place. We have activities planned and events going on.”

Some 42,000 patients a year in that region will need donated blood, he said.

Matthews said the library was “thrilled” when CBC approached them with the idea.

“The library’s accessibility to the community made it a perfect spot,” she said. “The program came together quickly, in only a few months. We knew immediately this was something MidPointe should be involved with.”

CBC partnering with MidPointe West Chester Library is “a tremendous opportunity,” Pompilio said.

“They want to be a hub of community activity — a resource center, a cultural center, a family center — and a place to get involved in the community,” he said. “People in West Chester will come to know that every fourth Wednesday of the month they can help save lives by giving blood at MidPointe. That’s a big boost to CBC and the cause of blood donations.”

Midpointe spokeswoman Cari Hillman said libraries are increasingly transforming from traditional “book depositories” to more versatile community meeting hubs.

“We are eager to be involved in projects and programs that are outside of what one may consider a commonplace library function,” Hillman said. “It’s the best way to ensure our library remains a vital and integral part of the community. A partnership like the one we enjoy with the Community Blood Center is ideal for our organization because it presents the opportunity for those in our service district who have not visited the library recently to see all we have to offer.”

Gaye Earlywine, who takes yoga classes at the library, made her first blood donation at the October blood drive.

“I’ll come again,” Earlywine said. “I love the library. I come here all the time.”

The program is one of many the library has collaborated on with local organizations in the last few months. It recently installed a deposit collection in the maternity ward waiting room of West Chester Hospital with books for new big brothers and sisters. MidPointe will begin hosting weekly storytimes at Liberty Center on Dec. 4.