M33 Access Annual Festival Charity Efforts To Include Giant Blood Drive

ROSE CITY, MI (JUNE 26, 2008): Visitors to the 9th Annual M33 Access Customer Appreciation Day Festival and Concert Fundraiser in Rose City, MI will discover a new feature of the annual festival: a first-ever blood drive in conjunction with Michigan Community Blood Centers, with a target 500 pints of blood.

The goal makes the M33 Access drive one of the largest one-day campaigns ever in Michigan.

To help achieve that goal, people are invited to “rock ‘n’ roll up their sleeves” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 19. Any healthy person 17 or older who weighs 110 pounds or more may be eligible to give blood every 56 days.

To make an appointment on line to donate at the M33 Access Drive, log on to www.m33access.com and click on the Festival icon. For more information on giving blood and the lifesaving value of blood donation, visit www.miblood.org.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be doing this,” said Glenn A. Wilson, Sr., the company’s founder and CEO. According to Wilson, M33 Access’s Customer Appreciation Festival has evolved from “a big company picnic” to a “giant community fundraiser” in just a few years. Last year’s event raised more than $20,000 for local charities and youth groups. This year, M33 Access hopes to top $30,000.

“This blood drive merely personifies what the festival has become – a family oriented event to gather a bunch of great people, have a wonderful time and in the process do some really nice things to help others,” Wilson said. “And what nicer thing can we do for others than to roll up our sleeves and give the gift of life.”

Sharon Childs, director of donor services for Michigan Community Blood Centers in northern Michigan, estimates it will take 60 Blood Center personnel to staff the M33 drive. “It’s a huge undertaking,” she said, aware that the M33 Access Festival typically draws crowds approaching 7,500 people.

Founded by Wilson in 1999, M33 Access provides high-speed Internet connectivity to families, businesses and schools using wireless broadband and dial-up connections. Its network, covering more than 10,000 square miles in northeast Michigan, is among the largest wireless ISPs in the world.

Established in 1955, Michigan Community Blood Centers is an independent, nonprofit blood bank that supplies hospitals in four major regions in Michigan (combined pop. 1.5 million). Michigan Community Blood Centers also supports military, disaster-related and other national blood needs on request. In northern Michigan, Michigan Community Blood Centers provide 100% of the blood supply for hospitals in Antrim, Bay, Benzie, Clare, Gladwin, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Midland, Osceola, and Saginaw counties.

© Michigan Community Blood Centers