Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology Gather Donations to Save 177 Lives

CLEARWATER: To help win the war against a low"I find the blood drive a great way to serve the
supply of blood, the Volunteer Ministers of the Churchcommunity," she said. "It is very rewarding to know that
of Scientology held their second blood drive for Floridaeach pint of blood that is donated will help save three
Blood Services in downtown Clearwater this weekend.lives, and only takes 30 minutes out of a person's day."
59 pints of blood were collected in total, with 27 ofDonations of whole blood can be broken down into
these directly from Volunteer Ministers.different components, she explained: platelets, red
The pints of blood were very much needed, as drivesblood cells and plasma, and these can be used to
scheduled over the 4th of July weekend, usually aaddress specific injuries or surgeries.
prime time for blood donations were rained out due toOf blood that is donated, 20% goes to help treat
heavy storms that hit the area.cancer patients, most of whom are children.
Florida Blood Services, on their website, states thatFagerman is looking forward to the next drive and
90% of the population will need donated blood in theirplans to promote this event even more so that more
lifetime. Every 2 to 3 seconds, someone in the Unitedpeople will donate.
States needs blood. Tragically, only 37% of theTo find out more about Florida Blood Services, and
population in the US is eligible to give blood and lesshow you can become a donor, please log on to
than 10% donate annually.The Volunteer Ministers have become renowned for
Judy Fagerman, the Coordinator for the Volunteertheir work in disaster sites as diverse as New York
Ministers in Tampa helped to organize the drive.after 9/11, the Asian Tsunamis, California brushfires and
"As L. Ron Hubbard said, "A being is only as valuableHaiti's earthquake.
as he can serve others," Fagerman stated.