American Red Cross Honors Philadelphia Phillies at Heritage of Service Dinner

A Celebration of Inspiration and Hope

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 — The American Red Cross will honor Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies with its prestigious Dr. Charles Drew Award at the organization's Heritage of Service Dinner this evening. The Heritage of Service Dinner is a celebration to recognize the outstanding dedication and commitment from individuals, organizations, partners and corporations who enable the Red Cross to achieve its noble mission each year. The Phillies are being recognized for the organization's support of Red Cross blood drives in the Philadelphia area. This national, donor recognition event will bring together members of Congress, military leaders, Washington dignitaries, corporate representatives and Red Cross partners and volunteers. Accepting the award for the Phillies will be Bonnie Clark, Vice President of Communications.

"The Philadelphia Phillies have certainly hit a homerun for the American Red Cross and most importantly those who are in need of life-saving blood in the greater Philadelphia area," said Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the Red Cross. "We are very proud to celebrate and honor some of our most dedicated partners, supporters and friends of the Red Cross as the Phillies not only provide a positive example of community engagement in Philadelphia, but for the entire nation as well."

"We are extremely honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award," said David Montgomery, President of the Phillies. "Our fans recognize the need to support the Red Cross, and we are so appreciative of their enthusiasm to step up to the plate and donate blood to save lives. We look forward to continuing to work with the American Red Cross."

When the U.S. entered World War II in 1941, the U.S. military asked the American Red Cross to create and operate a national blood program to support the troops. Dr. Charles Drew, a hematologist, surgeon, educator and scientist, turned his skills to the development of dried plasma. He supervised the pilot Red Cross blood banking program which was established in 1941. His groundbreaking research made it possible to store plasma for later use, revolutionizing modern medicine. Americans donated millions of pints of blood for the war effort and his innovation enabled those donations to save the lives of countless casualties of war.

In 2005, Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies approached the American Red Cross Blood Services, Penn-Jersey Region about the possibility of hosting a large blood drive in Citizens Bank Park. This noble thought hasled to one of the most successful partnerships in region history. Over the last three years, the Phillies have become champions of the need for blood in the Philadelphia area by hosting multiple blood drives, donating employee time and resources, and generating valuable media attention for the cause. Over the last three years, the Phillies have directly helped the Penn-Jersey Region collect 3,015 whole blood units, 28 platelet units, and have introduced 644 new donors to the Red Cross blood program.

President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs for the Dinner. General Richard B. Myers, USAF (RET), will serve as the Dinner Chair. General Myers and his wife, Mary Jo Myers, will be the emcees for the event. Preceding the dinner in the American Red Cross Hall of Service, there will be a reception from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. in the American Red Cross Board of Governors Hall in Washington, D.C.

Philadelphia Phillies
The 2007 National League East Champion Phillies play baseball at the award-winning Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. For more info go to www.phillies.com.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters; provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization – not a government agency – and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its humanitarian mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at www.redcrosschat.org.