Blood Drives Bring Unity and Life in Time of Hate and Division

Sixth annual Blood Drive in memory of Allen Braund of
Saratoga, Wisconsin garners 39 units of blood for life
on Jan. 6, 2017 at the Wisconsin Rapids Elks Club.
Pictured above are donors, family and friends.
Image by Mary Captain-Braund.

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin—Driving north on United States Highway 51-(I-39) into central Wisconsin, traffic is overflown by eagles drawing the attention of excited passengers.

This rural region with the Wisconsin River coursing serpentine is a thriving tourism and recreation mecca with strong communities and multi-generational families. It's a place where the 97-year-old, retired teacher, Lorraine Weaver gets out to eat breakfast at the Four Star Family Restaurant and is occasionally greeted by former students and families who recognize her from decades past.

Last weekend, the Wisconsin Rapids Elks Club housed the sixth annual Blood Drive in memory of Allen Braund, sponsored by the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, family and friends. Their mission is to save lives, and they're already have set the date for January 5th, 2019 as the seventh annual Blood Drive in memory of Allen Braund.

Braving below-zero weather, the community and visitors from as far-away as Chicago gathered to honor Allen Braund, donating some 39 units of whole blood and platelets, critical for the healing efforts of the medical profession.

"Every year at the event, it's January so it's cold and every year people rallying around Allen walk away feeling warm and reinvigorated, knowing we have helped our community and our fellows," said Mary Captain-Braund, wife of Allen.

The feeling is confirmed by medical professionals and staff who gratefully acknowledge the help of dedicated community members.

"Benefits such as Allen Braund's ensure the Blood Center of Wisconsin will be able to provide the blood products patients need at the local hospitals we serve," said Becky Brown, a staff member from the Blood Center.

The enterprise of coming together to pass our life-blood to others awakens in many the connections that bring people together from all walks of life.

One young gentleman donating around 12:30 p.m. told family members he read about the event in Wisconsin Rapids City Times, so he "came on over."

And the beautiful Wisconsin Rapids region is the place where unity and decency reign supreme.

Already, there is news of another blood drive this month, sponsored by the Paper City Savings Association.

Reports Joe Bachman of Wisconsin Rapids City Times:

Paper City Savings will be holding their fourth annual blood drive on Wednesday, Jan. 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at their Eighth St. location.

Our blood drive this year will be held in memory of our dear friend and coworker Gnet Williams who passed away on Oct. 2, 2017. Throughout her battle with cancer, Williams benefited many times from blood donations.

It's a good bet giving the gift of life will succeed again this month.

VA Launches Facebook Pages for All 152 Medical Centers

Clement J. Zablocki VA
Medical Center in Milwaukee

Strategy Enables Returning Vets to Engage with VA at the Local Level

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that all of its 152 medical centers are now actively represented on Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site.

“This event marks an important milestone in the overall effort to transform how VA communicates with Veterans and provide them the health care and benefits they have earned,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans and their families told us from the beginning that they want to engage and they want relevant information delivered at the local level. By leveraging Facebook, the Department continues to expand access to VA, and embrace transparency and two-way conversation.”

The process that began with a single Veterans Health Administration Facebook page in 2008 has now produced over 150 Facebook pages, 64 Twitter feeds, a YouTube channel, a Flickr page, and the VAntage Point blog. Additionally, in June 2011, VA produced a Department-wide social media policy that provides guidelines for communicating with Veterans online. The overarching strategy is designed to help break down long-perceived barriers between the Department and its stakeholders.

“Veterans of all eras are depending on us to get the right information to the right person at the right time,” said Brandon Friedman, VA’s director of online communications, and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. “With more troops returning home, we also have a responsibility to connect with the thousands of Servicemembers who have been—and will be—entering our system. They’re using social media, so that’s where we need to be. Facebook helps us do that.”

“We are very pleased to have pioneered social media in VA, and now our VA medical centers across the nation are all engaged,” said Dr. Robert Petzel, under secretary for health. “We are committed to helping Veterans understand their benefits and receive the health care their service has earned them.”

VA clinicians can’t discuss the specific health concerns of individual Veterans on Facebook, but that doesn’t prevent staff from monitoring VA’s sites closely each day—and providing helpful information to Veterans when they can. In the last year, for instance, VA’s Crisis Line counselors have successfully intervened on Facebook in cases where Veterans have suggested suicidal thoughts or presented with other emotional crises.

“Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected and we are excited to see government agencies using our service to better to connect with citizens, provide information, and deliver services,” said Don Faul, Facebook’s vice president of online operations, a former U.S. Marine and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. “We want to do all we can to support Veterans, so we’re pleased to see the Department of Veterans Affairs using Facebook connect with Veterans in an authentic and engaging way.”

VA currently has over 345,000 combined Facebook subscribers (or, “fans”). The Department’s main Facebook page has over 154,000 fans and its medical centers have a combined subscribership of over 69,000. The Department plans to continue expanding its Facebook presence while also focusing on bringing Twitter to every VA medical center as well.

For more information, please visit the sites below:

• Directory of All VA Social Media Sites
• VA Facebook Page Directory