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HILLIARD, Ohio (June 6, 2008) – The Rahal Letterman Racing team will open its doors to save lives on June 12 as it hosts its very first public American Red Cross Blood Drive on June 12 at its Hilliard race shop.
The Central Ohio Blood Services Region of the Red Cross will provide the services for the blood drive, while RLR personnel will take donors on tours of the race shop and will be on hand to answer questions about the team’s IndyCar Series operations as well as the impending BMW program in the American Le Mans Series.
The Rahal Letterman Racing headquarters is located at 4601 Lyman Drive in Hilliard, which is just off the Cemetery Road exit off of I-270. The blood drive will take place from 1 – 7 p.m. at the team’s shop.
“We are pleased to be able to provide this service and to give something back to the community where we have lived and worked for 15 years,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal. “The Red Cross provides lifesaving services for everyone, and anything we can do to assist that effort is worth any effort.”
In addition to helping save lives with a donation, presenting donors who come to donate at the June 12 blood drive will be entered into a raffle for prizes including: Two tickets for the IRL Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 18-20; including General Admission, Paddock Access and Team Hospitality and lunch for four (4) with the Rahal Letterman Racing Team at the shop in Hilliard. This includes a detailed, behind the scenes tour of the Rahal Letterman Racing Facility.
The Central Ohio Blood Services Region of the Red Cross supports patients at 39 hospitals across 27 counties and needs approximately 650 volunteer donors every day to meet the patients’ needs for blood products. As many as three lives can be touched through a single donation.
Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, and be in general good health.
Blood donors are particularly needed as summer sets in. As of June 6, the Central Ohio region of the Red Cross was facing critical shortages of type O-negative, the universal red blood cell generally safe for patients of any type. Four other types had also dropped to critical levels, with less than a two day supply on hand of each.”
Blood donors of all types are encouraged to give now. For information on open blood drives, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE, or visit the Central Ohio Region’s Web site at www.BloodSavesLives.org. Once on the website, use the security code RLR to sign up for the Rahal Letterman Racing blood drive.
Eric Mauk
Director of Communications
W: 614.529.7000 (x104) 4601 Lyman Drive
C: 614.264.1254 Hilliard, OH 43026
Questions about blood donation or the blood supply please contact (614) 253-2740 Communications Supervisor: Rodney J. Wilson, ext. 2347 or Communications Specialists: Nicole Baird, ext. 2320, & Heather Reichle, ext. 2275 |
