Middletown, NY: New York Blood Center (NYBC), one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world, will host a blood drive on Monday, January 25 at The Galleria at Crystal Run to help meet an unprecedented need for blood donations in the region and throughout the country. The NYBC will be located on Level Two across from the food court making it easier for shoppers to conveniently give the gift of life while shopping. Guests are encouraged to make an appointment online or by calling 800-933-2566.
- WHERE: Level Two across from the Food Court, 1 Galleria Drive, Middletown, NY 10940
- WHEN: Monday, January 25 from 11AM-5PM
- WHO: Blood Donors, Volunteers, and New York Blood Center Representatives
- WHY: It only takes one hour to donate, and a single donation can save multiple lives. Roughly one in seven hospital admissions require a blood transfusion. Those in need include cancer patients, accident, burn, or trauma victims, newborn babies and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, and many more.
“January is National Blood Donor Month and a perfect time to remind our communities that blood donors are essential, even during a pandemic,” said Andrea Cefarelli, NYBC Senior Executive Director, Recruitment & Marketing. “COVID 19 has created a chronic deficit of blood donations and we have an urgent need for donors or donated space to make giving blood convenient again.”
“The Galleria at Crystal Run is proud to partner with the New York Blood Center to continue to help our local community members during this time of need,” said Eric Price, General Manager at Galleria at Crystal Run. “Thank you to everyone who has made an appointment for the upcoming Blood Drive.”
The NYBC is taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. As always, guests are not eligible to donate if they are experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection, or flu-like symptoms. Additional information on donor eligibility and COVID-19 precautions are available here. As a reminder, Galleria at Crystal Run is taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of guests and employees by following guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), New York State and Orange County. Masks and social distancing continue to be required to enter the property and guests are required to follow the center’s Healthy Shopper Guidelines.
Before COVID-19, mobile blood drives hosted by high schools, colleges, businesses, and other organizations made up approximately 75% of the region’s incoming blood supply. The number of blood drives has dropped by two-thirds this year due to the pandemic. NYBC is seeking partnerships to host drives in large venues. If you have a space available and would like to host a blood drive, please visit https://donate.nybc.org/donor/schedules/name.
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About Galleria at Crystal Run
The Galleria at Crystal Run is the Hudson Valley’s premier shopping center and a community resource for all the tristate area. For more information on the Galleria at Crystal Run’s shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities, please visit www.galleriacrystalrun.com.
About Pyramid Management Group, LLC
Pyramid Management Group is one of the largest, most innovative, privately-held real estate developers in the northeast. Headquartered in Syracuse, New York, Pyramid’s portfolio of dynamic shopping, dining and entertainment destinations and expanding hospitality presence dominate the northeast with 14 properties located throughout New York and Massachusetts. For 50 years, Pyramid has built its reputation on being first, fast, ahead of the curve and always what’s next, leading the industry in combining the best elements of traditional retail with world-class dining and entertainment, all under one roof. For more information, visit www.pyramidmg.com.
About New York Blood Center
Founded in 1964, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is a nonprofit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world. NYBC, along with its operating divisions Community Blood Center of Kansas City, Missouri (CBC), Innovative Blood Resources (IBR), Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD), and Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC), collect approximately 4,000 units of blood products each day and serve local communities of more than 75 million people in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT), Mid Atlantic area (PA, DE, MD, VA), Missouri and Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Southern New England. NYBC and its operating divisions also provide a wide array of transfusion-related medical services to over 500 hospitals nationally, including Comprehensive Cell Solutions, the National Center for Blood Group Genomics, the National Cord Blood Program, and the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, which — among other milestones — developed a practical screening method for hepatitis B as well as a safe, effective and affordable vaccine, and a patented solvent detergent plasma process innovating blood-purification technology worldwide.