Donate blood in memory of Dale Hirrel tomorrow

GREENWOOD LAKE — The Greenwood Elks Lodge will hold a blood drive tomorrow, May 5, in memory of Dale Hirrel, a local teenager who died in a car accident two years ago.
The “Do it for Dale” blood drive will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Greenwood Elks Lodge Social Hall at 35 Chestnut St.
The event is being held in partnership with GWL Skatepark Corp., a group working to build a professional concrete skate park in Hirrel’s memory.
Hirrel was an avid skateboarder who had always dreamed of having a skate park in his hometown.
The blood donation process takes about an hour. Nearly 2,000 donations are needed each day in New York and New Jersey alone, according to organizers. About one in seven hospital admissions requires a blood transfusion, and with a limited shelf life, supplies must be continually replenished.
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 others.
Donors with O-negative blood type, or “universal donors,” are especially encouraged to attend, as their blood can be used in emergencies.
To learn more, call Jennifer Barden at 646- 676-4486 or email to: jennifer@risaheller.com.