FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Armenian-American Community of Central California
Contact: Tom Bulger
March 24, 2004
Tel: (559) 291-8215
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA BLOOD DRIVE TO HONOR MEMORY OF ARMENIAN MARTYRS
The Armenian-American Community of Central California will
commemorate the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with a blood drive in
mid-April.
Friends and descendants of those who died for their faith in the
dark days of the Ottoman Empire will give the gift of life in the Third Annual
Armenian Martyrs’ Day Blood Drive on Sunday, April 18.
The drive will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the campus of
Fresno’s First Armenian Presbyterian Church, 430 South First Street, midway
between historic Huntington Boulevard and the Kings Canyon Promenade.
The event is co-sponsored by the Central California Blood Center
and the Board of Deacons at FAPC, California’s oldest Armenian religious
institution. Prospective donors are warmly invited to participate and should call
(559) 291-8215 to register in advance and/or obtain information.
The blood donation process (registration, screening, collection,
and refreshments) takes about one hour to complete. Donors must be in good
general health, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, and be at least 17 years old.
Senior citizens are especially encouraged to donate, as there is no upper age
limit.
Donors should eat a healthy meal and drink plenty of water within
four hours prior to their donation. Donors can give blood every eight weeks,
the time necessary for the body to completely replace a pint of blood. A
Social Security Number is required for registration and first-time donors must
present photo identification upon registration.
The Central California Blood Center has been a part of the San
Joaquin Valley for 50 years. The Center is responsible for drawing and
distributing blood and blood components in Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Tulare, and Kings
Counties. The non-profit Center serves 30 hospitals and a population base of
more than 1.5 million people in the five-county area. The Blood Center must
collect more than 5,000 units every month to meet the medical needs of the
Central Valley.
Chartered by 40 immigrants on July 25, 1897, First Armenian
Presbyterian Church grew dramatically in the early decades of the 20th Century as
tens of thousands Armenians fled from ethnic cleansing in their ancestral
homeland and settled in the heartland of the Golden State. The congregation is a
member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Armenian Evangelical Union
of North America.
Dean Eller is the Chief Executive Officer of the Central
California Blood Center. Reverend Mgrdich Melkonian is the Senior Pastor of FAPC and
Thomas Bulger is Chair of the Board of Deacons.
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