Last Saturday, May 31, 2014, we had our second “Cartoonists Draw Blood” blood drive event with the American Red Cross. I came up with the concept a full year ago and tracked down the appropriate Red Cross people to put the event in motion, in addition to finding the venue that could handle the blood drive, be cost efficient, willing to work with us, and near a Metro station.
Everything came together last fall when we held the first blood drive – and saved the lives of up to 90 people! This year was an improvement — although we did hit one snag that was beyond anyone’s control!
Thanks to Troy-Jeffery Allen for co-organizing the event. He really stepped up to bat. This year we were able to greet people directly near the front door, which was a better placement for our drawing tables. Since Troy was handling the sign-ins, I got to draw a lot more than last year.
So what was the snag no one could do anything about? Troy was on top of things when the water main broke from the construction crew across the street. It happened in the afternoon and the crew said they might have water back on in an hour. We had to stop the blood drive and wait it out. During this time Steve Artley, Joe Sutliff, Mal Jones, and myself drew up a storm hanging out with Red Cross employees Kamika and Janay. We also drew for many people who were waiting to give blood and were unable to because we had the shut the whole thing down when the water never came back.
The event was still a success in my eyes. There were even walk-ins who never knew about the event until they walked by the front window. I can’t think of a better way to showcase our cartooning skills and give back.
Fairfax Times helped promote the event the week before in print.
The Takoma Voice provided online coverage before the event and included interviews with many of the cartoonists as well showcasing images of our art. Here is the link: http://tpssvoice.com/2014/05/23/return-bloodthirsty-cartoonists/
Thanks to all the cartoonists who donated their time and talents: Steve Artley, Carolyn Belefski, Bill Brown, Eric Gordon, Mal Jones, Teresa Roberts Logan, Jay Payne, Matt Rawson, Joe Sutliff
Thanks to our sponsors: Cartoonists Draw Blood, American Red Cross, National Cartoonists Society, Seekers Church
Thanks to Joe Carabeo for taking photos in the morning before heading to another photoshoot. More photos are here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152435841617381.1073741850.50763422380&type=3
We hope to do the event again sometime in the future. Stay ‘tooned.
XOXO,
Carolyn
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