Fitchburg, MA – September 3, 2009: It’s been almost 10 years since he was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and 2 years since the first Lucky 13 Foundation stem cell donor drive, and Chris Guilfoil still hasn’t found a match. “I’d be lying if I said that finding a match for me wasn’t the foundation for our cause, but our true mission is to make donating stem cells as mainstream and as acceptable as donating blood,” Chris said from his new home in Atlanta where he is completing an internship with the Atlanta Hawks, Thrashers and Phillips Arena organization.
Medical researchers believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically change the treatment of human disease. More than 35,000 patients per year, many of them children, are diagnosed with diseases treatable with stem cell therapies. Approximately 30% of the people needing a stem cell transplant will find a match in his or her family. The remaining 70% rely on volunteer donors. The Lucky 13 Foundation sponsors, and helps to facilitate, stem cell donor drives in an effort to increase the amount of stem cell donors with the hopes of finding a match for people in need. A number of diseases and conditions that can be treated with stem cell therapy include, but are not limited to; certain cancers including Leukemia & Lymphoma, diabetes, macular degeneration, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, acute & chronic stroke, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy.
Today’s event, which was held at the Fitchburg State College campus, is part of the freshman orientation Rock the Block event and is “a perfect venue for a donor drive,” said Michele Morin, Lucky 13 Marketing & Event Coordinator. “Donating stem cells is a simple cheek swab and is a one time thing, unlike giving blood, and college students are the perfect audience for us. They tend to have a sense of civic responsibility and participate more in community and charity events. They give back.”
To help draw the crowd to the Lucky 13 tent, which was one of more than 90 tents that include other clubs, organizations, and vendors, Lucky 13 launched a new marketing effort using the “Get Lucky Girls” which is comprised of FSC Alumni Katie Cringan, Kaitlin O’Connell, Kalie Clayton and also Meghan Donnelly. “Go Daddy has Go Daddy Girls and Red Bull has Red Bull Girls, so why not Get Lucky Girls?” said Michele. The girls wore t-shirts that stated ‘Wanna Get Lucky’ on the front and had the Lucky 13 logo on the back. "They did an excellent job," Michele continued noting that over 108 new stem cell registrations were processed at today's event.
“The key is to recruit people at an early age so that they are in the system for a long time and are then more likely to be a match for someone down the road,” she continued, “The question was ‘How do we target that audience?” Lucky 13 hopes to continue their partnership with FSC, as well as develop relationships with other colleges and universities, in the hopes of having donor drives and recruiting incoming freshman during orientation events nationwide. ‘It’s perfect! Imagine that you are an incoming freshman, excited about embarking on your college education and making a difference in the world, it’s a beautiful day on campus, and four beautiful girls approach you and ask you to help save a life. Who would say no?”
To view a slide show of photos from the Rock the Block event,
click here.
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ATTENTION COLLEGE STUDENTS!
Would you like to help make a difference in the lives of millions and perhaps save a life?
THE LUCKY 13 FOUNDATION NEEDS YOU!
We are always looking for interested and committed individuals to help us in our efforts to make stem cell donation as mainstream and as accepted as donating blood. With the new advances in stem cell treatments and therapies, the need for stem cell donors has never been more urgent.
If you would like to sponsor a donor drive on campus, volunteer at an event, help with marketing, promotions, fund raising, grant writing, etc. we would love to hear from you.
Please send an email with your contact info and interests to
info@lucky13foundation.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
