Before the lights went down at The Loft, Courtney Slanacker of the American Red Cross Southern Arizona and Samuel Ross of the Arizona Achievers Foundation set the stage: a night to honor Dr. Charles Drew, and a reason to roll up a sleeve. Tap any quote to play the exact moment.
🎙️ In this clip: Courtney Slanacker · Samuel Ross
Why we gathered
Courtney welcomed the room on behalf of the three hosting partners — the American Red Cross Southern Arizona, the Sickle Cell Foundation of Arizona and the Arizona Achievers Foundation — and named the man at the center of the evening.
today we're celebrating Dr. Charles Drew, the founder of blood banking
She introduced featured speaker Dr. Yvette Miller, who has worked across the country to diversify the blood supply, and explained why that diversity matters at the bedside.
if we can match them with the right type at the right time, we can provide the best care possible.
A community partner's ask
Samuel Ross described the Arizona Achievers Foundation's youth services and its mobile unit, which brings free health screenings — dental, blood pressure and more — into underserved neighborhoods. His hope for the night was simple.
hopefully we can get more blood donations out of this event
My thought would be get out and donate blood. Our sickle cell patients need it.
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