Red Cross partners with Mount Nittany Health, State College tech companies for Power Red Challenge

By: Nicole Roschella

The Mid Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross is proud to partner with Mount Nittany Health for the Power Red Challenge, a fundraising campaign to invest in a new Power Red machine to maximize the impact of blood donations in the area.

A  Power Red donation  allows you to donate two units of red blood cells during one donation. A special machine separates and collects two units of red cells and then safely returns the remaining blood components, along with some saline, back to the donor through the same arm. 

L to R: Steve Brawley (Ben Franklin Technology Partners / Red Cross Board Member), Kara Lackmann (KCF Technologies), Morgan Zipfel (KCF Technologies), Tiffany Cabibbo (Mount Nittany) Deborah Harzinski (Drucker Diagnostics), Tom Mallison (Drucker Diagnostics), Hope Roaten (Red Cross), Corrin Ruggiero (Red Cross)

"The need for blood is constant, and a Power Red donation is a way to save time and make your blood donation go further," said Hope Roaten, Executive Director of the Mid Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross. "Mount Nittany Health has been a community champion for us in helping to bring another Power Red machine to our area."

The Red Cross is the nation’s largest blood supplier, providing 40% of U.S. blood to hospitals and cancer treatment centers. To fulfill our mission, we depend on reliable equipment.

"After donations from several other local partners, Mount Nittany Health closed the gap with their gift and donated the remaining funds needed to procure a new Power Red machine," Roaten said.

Between February 2021 and February 2022, Mount Nittany Health used nearly 2,500 units of red blood cells and nearly 400 units of platelets from the American Red Cross.

"Mount Nittany Health is proud to join our community’s innovators—Ben Franklin Technology Partners, AccuWeather, KCF Technologies and Drucker Diagnostics—to ensure our region has the lifesaving blood stores it needs," said Tiffany Cabibbo, DSc, MSN, RN, CENP, Executive Vice President, Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Mount Nittany Health. "As the area's primary provider of surgical and emergency services, blood donations are vital to the care we provide to our community."

Jim Strickland, Power Red donor

Jim Strickland has donated blood to the Red Cross since the birth of his daughter in 1991. Since then, he has donated 81 units. 

"I was a new father and I decided that I wanted to do something to give back because I had been blessed with a happy, healthy baby girl," Strickland said. "I decided at that time that I would make the commitment to give blood as often as I could." 

Within the last three years, Strickland became a Power Red donor.

"I had always wondered about it but never really gave it much thought," Strickland said, "until one time, I was donating at the Red Cross donation center in State College, and there was a gentleman there doing the Power Red donation. Just the way he was talking about it kind of intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try."

Strickland says he encourages people to give Power Red donations because of the benefit of donating double the red blood cells in one sitting. In his personal experience, he has also found that Power Red donations are less fatiguing. With all of your platelets and plasma returned to you along with some saline, you don’t lose the liquid portion of your blood and may feel more hydrated after your donation.

"Sometimes when I would do a regular whole blood donation, it took a day or two to start feeling back to 100%. But with Power Red, I can come up off that table with no problem whatsoever. It's just not as physically taxing to me," Strickland said.

Power Red is for type O, A negative or B negative donors. Other  eligibility requirements  apply. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, platelets or plasma, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit  RedCrossBlood.org  or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). 

Community donates blood in memory of mother and frequent blood donor

By: Nicole Roschella

Community members in Indiana County came out to donate blood in memory of a local mother, Judith Maschak, about a year after her passing. Maschak, 59, passed away on April 29, 2021, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Maschak's family chose to honor her with an American Red Cross blood drive near their hometown of Homer City. She was a frequent blood donor before her cancer diagnosis, giving nearly two gallons of blood. Maschak bravely battled Multiple Myeloma — a cancer of plasma cells — for more than eight years.

Maschak is lovingly remembered by her family as someone who never gave up and was always willing to help those in need.

"She was an amazing woman and is so, so, so missed. It's an honor that we are able to have this blood drive in her memory," said Samantha Maschak, Judith's daughter.

"We collected 14 units of blood over our goal," said Karen Sistek, a donor recruitment account manager for the Red Cross. "We had 11 first-time donors at the drive which is incredible!"

It’s critically important the Red Cross maintain a stable blood supply for patients this summer. To schedule an appointment to donate, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). 

Volunteer finds new home with the Red Cross after retirement

Volunteering with the American Red Cross can mark the opening of a new chapter for people looking for continued growth and purpose in life. Ninety percent of the Red Cross workforce is volunteers. Your time and talent can make a real difference in people's lives.

Deb Lozano's career in industrial engineering began with the U.S. Department of Defense, and new opportunities in project management eventually brought her all over the world. Her last stop before retirement was in the pharmaceutical industry. 

“I found it stressful to be a woman in that role. There was a lot of pressure, having to prove myself over and over,” Lozano said, “but I saw a lot of places and had a lot of experiences I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

When Lozano retired at age 57, she searched for opportunities to feel needed and be, in her words, a "productive part of society." She signed up to volunteer with several organizations in northeastern Pennsylvania, but did not find her niche right away. After two years, she decided to give the Red Cross a try. 

“My grandmother volunteered for the Red Cross in the 1960s. She always had a crisp uniform with a bunch of pins to represent the blood she donated, as well as pins for her service. I remember admiring her for volunteering,” Lozano said.

Lozano began her volunteer service with the Red Cross as a community outreach manager, helping to coordinate and train staff for community activities. Today, she leads a team of five people who support Red Cross Volunteer Services in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Region.

 

Lozano also supports Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces activities across Pennsylvania. She serves as a Veterans Affairs Voluntary Services Representative at the Wilkes-Barre Veterans Affairs Medical Center, providing support to veterans at the facility.

“I have found a volunteer home with the American Red Cross. I enjoy the work that I do and value all that the Red Cross does for others. I appreciate the staff and volunteers I work with, and have found them all to be top notch,” Lozano said.  “Every day is a new day working for the Red Cross. You start your day with a plan and are surprised along the way. It keeps things interesting.”

Lozano says the most important part about her job is not necessarily the work itself.

"What I get out of it more-so is the camaraderie with the volunteers and staff members," Lozano said. "It’s feeling appreciated and doing something that is worthwhile to others.”

To learn more about specific volunteer opportunities with the Red Cross in your area, please visit redcross.org/volunteer.

Red Cross blood donations help Pennsylvania sisters live life to the fullest

By: Nicole Roschella

Every day, Red Cross blood donors help patients of all ages: accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those battling cancer and chronic diseases. A pair of sisters from northeastern Pennsylvania have been on the receiving end of those lifesaving donations countless times.

Jill Deitrick adopted her daughters, Madison, 13, and MaeLeigh, 12, from China, knowing they had beta thalassemia major, a genetic blood disorder that disproportionately affects those of Asian descent. People with beta thalassemia major do not produce enough hemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein, causing fewer red blood cells to exist in the body than normal.

Madison and MaeLeigh rely on blood transfusions every three weeks to keep them healthy and active. They have received more than 500 units of blood between the two of them.

“The Red Cross is so important to our lives,” Deitrick said. "If we didn’t have the Red Cross and the blood from donors... I can’t imagine.”

Without blood transfusions, individuals with beta thalassemia major can suffer from severe fatigue, weakness and slow growth. Madison and MaeLeigh both enjoy staying active and playing volleyball on traveling teams. 

“Regular blood transfusions make it possible for them to do all the activities they want to do. It gives them energy,” Deitrick said.

Madison, Deitrick’s oldest daughter, also enjoys being part of her school's drama club and sound crew.

“She likes watching YouTube videos and is very creative and funny, with a dry sense of humor,” Deitrick said. “MaeLeigh is a bundle of energy. When she’s having a good day, she’s the best antidepressant around!”

When you think of donating blood to the Red Cross, Deitrick wants you to think of the people you could potentially help.

“When you donate, you are not only helping individuals in emergency or surgical situations, but you are also saving the lives of children and adults living with blood disorders,” Deitrick said. “My daughters have endured more IV starts and port accesses than most adults.”

Madison and MaeLeigh’s continual need for blood transfusions motivated their family to host blood drives in their Bradford County community. To date, eight Red Cross blood drives held in their honor have collected approximately 270 units of blood, potentially saving more than 800 lives.

   

“While it may not be your favorite way to spend an hour, think of those children who may be spending an entire day in the hospital, receiving blood every 21 days,” Deitrick said. “The minor inconvenience to blood donors pales in comparison to the gift they’re giving.”

When asked what they would say to generous Red Cross blood donors, Madison and MaeLeigh’s response was simple.

“Thank you,” they said.

April is National Minority Health Month — a time to raise awareness about health disparities that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority populations. To help ensure all patients have access to the blood products they count on, donors are urged to make an appointment by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

‘Without Them, We Would Have Nothing’: Red Cross Helps Family Start Over After Fire

By: Nicole Roschella

Numerologists speculate that Nov. 11 is the luckiest day of the year. For Brenda Cozzone, that day in 2020 was the complete opposite. That morning, her house went up in flames in a matter of seconds. 

Cozzone was at home alone while her daughter Rosie was at elementary school and her husband was at work. Cozzone was preparing to start a new job – her first since moving to the United States from Ireland. Before she logged on to her computer to begin training, she decided to boil a few eggs on her stove, which she would later find out was under recall for sparking fires. 

In the next minute, all she could see was smoke. 

“It wasn’t like smoke you’d see from a campfire. It was so black. It was like somebody had just set fire to a whole bunch of tires,” Cozzone said. 

The smoke stung her eyes. The entire stove was ablaze, along with the side of her refrigerator. The kitchen cabinet where she kept a fire extinguisher was unreachable. When she went to grab a different fire extinguisher, she couldn’t find it through the smoke. Her whole house was a black cloud. 

“At this stage, I was choking and choking. I thought, ‘You’re going to die in this house if you don’t get out,’” Cozzone said. She held onto her dog Rebel’s tail as he miraculously led her out of her burning home. 

As Cozzone stood in the pouring rain and looked at what was left of her family’s home, Andrea Wright, a Red Cross Disaster Cycle Services Volunteer, approached her. Wright handed Cozzone an envelope with money for a hotel room, food and other essential items. Cozzone told Wright she could not accept it. 

“I lost my job that I was supposed to start today because of this fire, so I can’t pay that money back,” Cozzone said, "but she kept pushing the envelope and telling me, ‘Pay it forward.’” The Red Cross volunteers had to explain to Cozzone what ‘pay it forward’ meant. 

“In Ireland, we’re very independent,” Cozzone said. She later realized what an amazing gift she had been given. 

“Right there in my hand was a step toward rebuilding my family’s life – our first step to get back to normal – because of the Red Cross,” Cozzone said. 

In the days after the fire, Red Crossers continued to keep in touch with Cozzone, even sending volunteers from the local food bank to their house with boxes full of food. 

“I looked at my daughter, my darling Rosie, and she was eating a bowl of cereal in a frilly pink dress, and I had to catch my breath,” Cozzone said. “Just 48 hours ago we had absolutely nothing. Not even a bowl for her to eat cereal from… but the Red Cross helped us. Without them, we would have nothing. I may not be here without them.” 

A neighbor also organized a donation drive to gather furniture and clothes for her family. 

“It was the church, my neighbor and the Red Cross. It was that little circle that kept us going,” Cozzone said. “Within two weeks of the fire, we were asking people to stop sending us stuff. We had no room for it.” 

Cozzone said Red Crossers worked for weeks to get her family what they needed – from new eyeglasses to prescription medications. 

“I told them, there is nothing more you can do for me. The Red Cross has done their part,” Cozzone said. “My family wanted for nothing.” 

As Cozzone reflected on Nov. 11, 2020, she remembers the persistent presence of the Red Cross workers. 

“The firefighters and police walked away when the fire was out, but the Red Cross stayed,” Cozzone said. “My family mattered that day to somebody. And that somebody was the Red Cross.” 

When you give to the American Red Cross, you help our community's most vulnerable and most needy. An average of 90 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested delivering care and comfort to those in need. Donations are used to provide food shelter, emotional support and other assistance, as well as the vehicles, warehouses and people that make relief possible. All of our expenses are fully transparent and can be reviewed here. Thank you for your support of the American Red Cross!

March Is Red Cross Month: Central Pennsylvania Chapter Honors Volunteer

By: Nicole Roschella

Every March, the American Red Cross honors and celebrates the everyday heroes who help fulfill our mission. It’s a time to recognize the humanitarian spirit that inspires compassionate people to step up when help can’t wait.

Dave Myers has been a Red Cross volunteer for the past 15 years.

“When I was growing up, things weren’t all that easy for us, but we had people to help,” Myers said.

Myers recalled his first interaction with the Red Cross many years ago, when someone set a building on fire in Carlisle and the flames spread to his mother’s house.

“I saw the Red Cross checking people into the shelter. The power was down in the area, but they kept working, trying to help people like my mom,” Myers said.

That moment inspired Myers to join the organization and help his neighbors in need. His work with the Red Cross is primarily focused on disaster scenes. Recently, he responded to a large apartment fire at the Boiling Springs Mill building, a colonial-era landmark in Carlisle. Everyone got out safely but lost their homes and belongings.

Myers was stationed at a nearby firehouse to interview each resident in a quiet place and give them financial assistance, blankets and comfort kits. Myers says he and another Disaster Action Team member, Carolyn Bixler, stayed at the fire station until 3 a.m. to help the people who lost their homes.

“We stay until we feel like they don’t need us anymore. We wait until the last moment,” Myers said. “For me, the job’s not done until I get to that point when I see a small smile on their face, to let me know that I’ve done everything I can for them.”

Myers’ role is the first step in helping people who have been displaced by a disaster.

“We help them find a place to stay, get the smoke smell off them, eat a warm meal. Then in the next 24 hours they’ll get a call from a Red Cross caseworker to handle their recovery needs,” Myers said.

Although the Red Cross is a big part of Myers’ life, his humanitarian efforts come after a full workday at a warehouse. At one point, Myers averaged 53 hours a week volunteering with the Red Cross on top of his 40-hour workweek.

“There are some nights I only get a couple hours of sleep because I get woken up at night to respond to a disaster,” Myers said, “but it’s those moments when people give you a hug and say thank you or when the firefighters acknowledge the Red Cross for stopping by. People appreciate you and it gives you a little bit of energy to be ready for the next call.”

Myers said he tried out volunteer roles at other nonprofits, but he didn’t feel like he fit in.

“I’ve met so many good people at the Red Cross, training and working with me,” Myers said. “One thing I like about the Red Cross is that you’re not pushed into doing something you’ve always done. You can do something different. It’s how much time you want to put into it. If that’s a couple hours a week or a couple hours a day – it’s your choice.”

Myers said his best memory from his time volunteering with the Red Cross is from his deployment to Panama Beach, Florida in 2018 for Hurricane Michael relief efforts.

“We were going from house to house throughout neighborhoods asking if they needed supplies. Some people told us we were the first people they saw since the National Guard came through,” Myers said. “It feels good to see people helping each other.”

Join Red Cross Month by visiting redcross.org to make a financial donation, give blood, become a volunteer or take a class in lifesaving skills, such as first aid and CPR. On March 23, you can also join our annual Red Cross Giving Day campaign by donating at redcross.org/givingday to help provide shelter, food, relief items, emotional support and other assistance for people affected by disasters big and small.

Cancer Survivor's Family Hopes to Drive Donations During Blood Supply Shortage in Her Honor

By: Nicole Roschella

In the Back Mountain area of Pennsylvania, near Wilkes-Barre, she’s known in the community simply as “Ms. Lori.” Lori Russell ran a childcare center there for 20 years and owned her own childcare business for the last 16 years. She raised children who grew up and brought their own families to the center to be cared for by Ms. Lori. 

Since September, Russell has been fighting Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It progresses rapidly without treatment.

“The doctor told us, had she not received treatment within weeks, she would not have survived," Nikki Wilkes, Russell’s daughter, said.

Now, Russell and her family are hosting a Red Cross blood drive in her honor, the day after she was scheduled to receive a bone marrow transplant.

When Russell was in the hospital, she had difficulty retaining platelets, but the hospital’s supply was so scarce that doctors did not give her transfusions unless her count was extremely low. In addition, some of the blood transfusions she received were not an exact match because of supply issues.

“It became very apparent how dire the blood and platelet supply situation is,” her daughter said. “To think that doctors have to choose between which patients receive blood and platelets is devastating.”

It was Russell’s idea for their family to host a blood drive to address the need. This is the first time that anybody in her community will learn that she has cancer.

“In true fashion of our family, we take on the cause like it’s our own,” her daughter said. “We take a really lousy situation — no matter what it is — and just give back. That’s how she raised us.”

Russell’s mantra is, “It takes a village,” and now she is looking to her local community to step up and make a difference in the national blood supply crisis.

“I think we sometimes forget there are ways to give back to the community that have absolutely nothing to do with money and financial situations. You don’t have to be financially privileged to donate blood,” Wilkes said. “You can do this for free, and this can literally save someone in your family or a complete stranger. How can you top that?”

Wilkes said, before experiencing her mother’s medical situation, she did not realize cancer patients would be recipients of donated blood and platelets.

“You shouldn’t wait until something happens to make a positive impact. I'm guilty of that. And here we are — hoping to make things better,” Wilkes said.

Generous community members have filled all the appointments for this specific blood drive in honor of Lori Russell. You can schedule your blood or platelet donation at any of our other drives by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS.