Gifts Keep Hoxworth Moving With New Bloodmobiles

The Proudly Cincinnati campaign has played a role in keeping Hoxworth Blood Center on the move—sometimes literally.

Charitable gifts included in the campaign have enabled Hoxworth  to buy two new bloodmobiles over the life of the campaign, greatly enhancing its blood donation efforts in Greater Cincinnati. In addition, Hoxworth is well on its way toward buying a third bloodmobile with funds donated during the campaign via individuals, corporations and foundations.

Founded in 1938, Hoxworth Blood Center is one of the oldest community blood centers in the nation. It distributes more than 300,000 total blood components annually to 31 hospitals in a 17-county region in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The bloodmobiles are crucial to community blood drives and complement Hoxworth’s eight neighborhood donor centers, including the central location on the Academic Health Center campus.

"These bloodmobiles can cost as much as $300,000, and the ability to raise money to buy them and not use Hoxworth operating funds is important in keeping costs low,” says Scott Inscho, who as division director of finance coordinates Hoxworth’s fundraising efforts and works in cooperation with the UC Foundation and the center’s community advisory board.

"It’s important for our blood and platelet donors to be able to count on a good environment with plenty of space, and this fundraising enables us to obtain great vehicles that we might not have been able to buy otherwise.”

Many significant gifts were made to the Hoxworth bloodmobile fundraising efforts during the Proudly Cincinnati campaign, including $50,000 from Procter & Gamble and a matching grant of $50,000 from the Cincinnati-based Luther Charitable Foundation. In addition, Hoxworth received $20,000 from the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and $7,500 from the Humana Foundation.

"Hoxworth Blood Center is proud to be part of the philanthropic community of Greater Cincinnati,” says Ronald Sacher, MD, the center’s director and a professor of medicine and pathology at the College of Medicine. "Each and every day we see the generosity of people through blood donation and are reminded of their financial contribution that has helped fund our bloodmobiles.

"We are grateful for these donors and for the Proudly Cincinnati Campaign.”

For more information about giving to Hoxworth, contact the center at 513-558-1200.