Mequon blood drive memorializes Rabbi Zebi
MEQUON, Wis. - The organizers of a blood drive in Mequon are celebrating another successful year, with nearly 3,000 people impacted by the blood collected.
"The first year we started this blood drive, Zevi was very, very ill, and he said, 'I’d like to do a big blood drive,'" said Evelyn Greenberger, Zevi's aunt.
Eight years ago, Rabbi Zevi Silver was diagnosed with cancer, and he requested his friends and family hold a blood drive.
"When I think about the blood drive every year, I think about Zevi, so when I have come up with an idea, it’s a matter of, no problem; I got this," said Greenberger. "I have his words in my head. I can do it – no problem."
In their first year, hundreds of people benefited from the blood collected. Fast forward to this year, the eighth drive in the annual series, they quickly approached 3,000.
"As a former surgeon, I can’t tell you how critical, how important the need for adequate blood availability is," said Dennis Maiman, donor.
Located inside the Peltz Center for Jewish Life in Mequon, donors rolled up their sleeves in memory of Zevi. However, this year, people were encouraged to also think about loved ones who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
"Our Zevi Gives Back T-shirts now have a place where it actually says, 'I am donating in honor of' because what better gift can you give than to save somebody’s life?" said Greenberger.
They are acts of selflessness that do more good than you realize.
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"I think people are sort of coming out of the darkness, if you were, in this regard, in caring about other people," said Maiman. "It’s a physical and obvious demonstration of people caring for each other."
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