Another Season, Another Blood Drive

After a long week I left the house this morning with some trepidation. Our son still hasn’t completely recovered and his schedule has been off lately. And with him still on the mend, I knew that I wouldn’t have my family with me in Ardmore as I had been expecting when I originally organized the event. As I woke up early this morning, I knew that it was going to be a long day but I was also looking forward to reconnecting with a few of the brothers as we all converged upon the lodge for our spring Blood Drive.

Arriving at the lodge a few minutes later than expected (thanks to abnormal Saturday traffic), I didn’t waste any time in coordinating with the Red Cross drivers parked next to the building and immediately opened the doors, turned on the lights, and adjusted the heat. With these minor preparations out of the way, I finally turned around and assessed the space only to find that nothing was ready for the event. So the work continued and even though we had to spend an additional twenty or thirty minutes in setting up the space, everything was ready to go by the time our first appointment arrived at 10:00am.

As usual, the bulk of the appointments were at opposite ends of the day with morning schedules and late afternoon schedules proving to be the most flexible. By the time lunch came around, the steady flow of people had slowed to a trickle and we found ourselves falling well short of our goal for the day. In actuality, while not great our attendance was pretty good but we ran into a number of hiccups along the way as there was an unusually high number of people disqualified from donating (new travel restrictions in particular where not helping).  

The afternoon brought a welcomed flurry of activity both in donations and other brothers joining us for a couple of hours. In the end, while we only received 12 out of a possible 21 donations, it also provided many of us the opportunity to meet brothers whom we had not seen in some time, brothers from other lodges, and also members of the community and from the extended masonic family. It would have been nice to have held a successful blood drive but there was at least some good that came out of the event in the way of fellowship, sure up plans for other events, and gaining greater understanding of what we need to do next time around to far exceed the number of donations that we have received the last two events.

From Shrine To Lodge

Here is a photo of the Lu Lu Shrine from above. 

I originally started my day doubting that I would make it to the lodge last night but, just in case, I told my son not to wait up for me. While many doubt his comprehension of this fact, it has been useful to let him know if I am going to be out late that night. If I don’t let him know he tends to stay up refusing to go to sleep until I walk through the door. What can I say, he’s an advanced child. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

Toward the end of the morning I began getting emails and texts regarding a check that, upon further review, was supposed to have been drafted after the April Stated Meeting. However, once I was able to speak with the Treasurer over the phone, we came to the realization that the check was never made out. This was an issue as we were now faced with the issue of having no check written that we were supposed to present the following night, Wednesday, at an event in Norristown. Further complicating matters, all three of us that are required to sign checks were not planning on being at the lodge.

So, after a few emails, texts, and calls back and forth I had my route for the night. After work, I got on the highway and headed toward the lodge… this time with a little detour along the way (two actually thanks to the closure of Plymouth Road). For the first time since I attended the one day class and became a Mason, I pulled into the drive way of the Lu Lu Shrine and proceeded to the back door where the Treasurer greeted me with check book in hand.

We filled in the check according to the amount previously approved during the meeting and we both signed it. Having a few minutes to space before having to leave, I got a brief refresher tour of the Shrine. While I don’t have the time or finances to become a Shriner at the moment, I plan to do so in the future. In the meantime, I look forward to bringing the family to a few of the events that are coming up over the summer and toward the end of the year.

From the Shrine I drove to the lodge where I had a number of quick discussion with a few of the brothers. Some related to the lodge while others were far from masonic in substance. A few minutes later the Worshipful Master pulled into the parking lot. We are all limited on time these days so I handed him the check to sign and bring with him the following night.

After checking the mail and finishing up a few conversations I looked at my watch and noticed that I had made pretty good time. So much so that I was able to get in the car and get home in time to see my son smile at me, help my wife give him a bath, and put him to bed. It was the best ending I could have hoped for what turned out to be a hectic day.

For The First Time In Years…

Even though I have little recollection of the past couple of months, somehow we were able to pull together a ‘successful’ Red Cross Blood Drive at the lodge yesterday. When I first got involved in the project things went rather smoothly but as the days and weeks passed it was one thing after another pulling me away from making sure everything came together. By the time I woke up yesterday, we had 18 people signed up for the drive with a few expected to walk in the door sometime during the day.

I got to the lodge about 90 minutes before the official start time and attempted to organize things at the sign in table and get the signs out in front of the building to sway in the windy rain. It wasn’t the best day for foot traffic but it was nice being inside and greeting the people as they walked through the door. With everyone in place I began having people sign in and for the first time in years, we had a blood drive happening at the lodge.

We started the morning with 18 people signed up for the drive and by the time the tables were being folded, we had 23 names on our list. I had wanted to see 20 pints donated in our first year and we would have reached that number had everyone been able to donate. However, for various reasons (living abroad, illness, and high pulse rate) there were 7 people who were unable to give.

That would have put us at 16 but there were also two brothers who really dedicated the time to donate and signed up for a double red blood cell donation. The donation time is twice as long as and much more complex than a regular donation. Since they each count as 2 pints, we just fell short of our goal with a total donation of 18 pints. This included a final draining at the end of the day when I was laying on the table for the first time in over a decade.

Could we have done better? Definitely but this is a good start to what we would like to see as an annual event. We were all learning as we went along this year and now that we have at least a little experience, things should only improve from here. I think next year (mark your calendar for the first weekend in October) we should set a minimum of 30 pints. I know I am going to try and do my part by doubling my donation!

Remembering Alex

Growing up I was never the kid who would set up a lemonade stand and try to make money or raise funds for a charity. Alex Scott was different. Even though she was only on this earth for a few years she started something much greater than herself, she was the driving force behind Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Yesterday was a long, but rewarding day, as my lodge sold lemonade at the Applebee’s on City Avenue to raise money for this truly worth, and locally based, charity.

It was a new experience for many of us and you could tell that there was a slight awkwardness that most of us felt when we first arrived but it didn’t take long before we banded together and sold as much as we could. Thankfully, it was a beautiful, and uncharacteristically warm, November day and the steady stream of cars (except when we dammed the flow of traffic for a few moments) provided for a constant flow of funds. Washington provided the bulk of the currency current with occasional ripple from Lincoln, Jackson, and Hamilton as well as one wave from Grant.

Many hands makes for light work and yesterday was no exception. Throughout the five or so hours that our lodge was on that corner we had brothers come and go contributing both time and money to the effort. Everyone gave a little bit of themselves to fill the hat as much as we could. It was a day that I was immensely proud to be wearing my apron outside the walls of the lodge.

Toward the end of the day things began to slow down. The lunch rush had dwindled and the foot traffic early came to a complete halt. It was a time for all of us to step back, recollect, and relax a little bit as we enjoyed being in the company of our brothers. It was especially nice for me because I also had my wife with me to enjoy the time we spent outside contributing to Alex’s memory.

It was around this time when we had a very special guest arrive at our little stand. Liz Scott, Alex’s mom, walked up to greet us and see how we were doing. Liz and her husband, Jay, supported Alex in the first few years with a small stand in their front yard just a few blocks from where we had our stand yesterday. Now she was supporting our efforts in the same way she supported her daughter.

By the end of the day we had raised almost eight hundred dollars (plus another five hundred from the lodge) for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Not too bad for the first time around. Of course, we are not completely done raising money.

For those of you so inclined you can donate $10 by texting “Lemonade E118099” to 85944. You can also contribute by calling (866) 333-1213 or going online at http://www.alexslemonade.org/contribute. Lastly, you can send a check or money order to the following address:

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation
333 E. Lancaster Avenue #414
Wynnewood, PA 19096

Whichever method you choose, please make sure you reference the code “E118099” so that we can continue to build upon our efforts and solidify a much loftier goal for next year. Thank you!