Petty is presented President's Volunteer Service Award by American Red Cross
On June 12, the American Red Cross Northern California Blood Services Region presented blood drive sponsor Thomas Petty with the President's Volunteer Service Award, a national honor offered in recognition of volunteer service.
Petty has sponsored the Livermore Community blood drive since 2002.
During his tenure, the drive has been held 38 times and produced 1,819 pints of blood. With each pint of blood spun down into its three component parts (red cells, platelets and plasma), as many as 5,457 people may have been helped because of the blood collected at the Livermore Community drives.
Petty owns his own Internet marketing consulting company in Livermore, WSI (http://www.wsismartsolutions.com), which sponsors the drives. He originally started the drives at his church, Asbury United Methodist Church (http://www.asburylive.org), but soon outgrew the location. The Robert Livermore Community Center has been its location ever since, a central gathering point in the city.
"When you agree to sponsor blood drives, you join an elite corps of caring people and organizations in the community that play a vital role in helping to save lives," said Jay Winkenbach, CEO of the Northern California Region. "Tom is one of our most valued and committed sponsors."
Petty's commitment to the Red Cross goes beyond sponsoring blood drives. In 2008, Petty joined the Red Cross Board of Directors in the Northern California Region. He is also a blood donor, personally donating more than 50 pints of blood with the Red Cross.
"Donating blood is probably the easiest thing someone can do give back to their community. It's been an important part of my life for over 20 years, so I asked the Red Cross about starting a drive in Livermore," Petty said. "It just grew from there."
The next Livermore Community blood drive will be held on Friday, June 19 at the Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East Avenue. The drive will be held from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 800-GIVE-LIFE (800-448-3543)
The President's Volunteer Service Award is issued by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of the President of the United States to recognize the best in American spirit, and to encourage all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service.
For more information about sponsoring a blood drive for the Red Cross, please call Sarah Dahms at 510-594-5209 or e-mail her at dahmsse@usa.redcross.org.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
