Heartland Blood Centers

SEPTEMBER - CHICAGO – Heartland Blood Centers (part of Versiti) is a premier sponsor of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Light The Night Walk. Heartland Blood Centers serves 65 hospitals in a 12 county area including Kane, McHenry, DeKalb, Will, DuPage, Cook, Grundy, Kendall, Lee, Ogle and LaSalle counties in Illinois, and Lake county in Indiana. Under a volunteer donor system, Heartland works toward collecting more than 200,000 units of blood annually supplying more than 60% of Chicagoland’s blood supply. Cancer patients account for almost 20 percent of all blood transfusions given.

 “We at Heartland Blood Centers (Part of Versiti) are glad to sponsor the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk,” said Chief Operating Officer, Michelle Robinson.  “This collaboration supports our vision to be the national leader in providing innovative and value-added solutions to meet the unique blood related needs of patients.

“The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has long enjoyed a relationship with Heartland Blood Centers,” according to Executive Director, Pam Swenk.  “This marks the beginning of a partnership between the two organizations that is focused on improving the health of people living with blood cancers and other blood related diseases, and we are proud to collaborate with a forward thinking, progressive organization to benefit those we serve.”

The Light The Night Walk is a two mile, non competitive event where participants carry illuminated lanterns while they walk – white for survivors, red for supporters, and gold to remember those lost to a blood cancer. Participants join with their family, friends and co-workers to raise funds for LLS in advance of the Walk.

LLS hosts five walks including: the Rockford Walk at Martin Park in Loves Park on Saturday, October 10; the Northwest Indiana Walk at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point, the Western Suburbs Walk at the Oak Brook park district and the Chicago Walk at Arvey Field in Grant Park on Saturday, October 24. Finally, the North Shore Walk in Gallery Park on Sunday, October 25.

Event festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. and include live music, food, entertainment, and kids’ activities. Heartland Blood Centers will be hosting a blood drive at the Chicago Walk on October 24th and Glenview Walk on October 25th. The opening ceremonies take place at dusk.

Last year, participants raised more than $60 million nationwide, and just over $1.8 million in Illinois. For more information or to register for a local walk, contact the Greater Illinois Chapter of LLS at (312) 651-7354 or visit www.lightthenight.org/il.

Light The Night’s 2015 Local Sponsors: Allstate Insurance Company, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Heartland Blood Centers, AbbVie, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Greenberg Traurig, MB Financial Bank, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Pamela B. Katten Memorial Leukemia Research Foundation, TransNational Payments, Valli Produce and Eckrich, and Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Light The Night’s 2015 National Sponsors and Partners include: UFCW, Burlington, PVH, Sarah Cannon Blood Cancer Network, Barclays, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Carter’s, Celgene Corporation, Elbit Systems of America, FIS, Genentech/Biogen Idec, Gilead, Global Franchise Group (Great American Cookies ® │Hot Dog on a Stick®│ MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream & Treatery® │Marble Slab Creamery® │Pretzelmaketer ®), Onyx Pharmaceuticals, an Amgen subsidiary, Pharmacyclics/ Janssen, Stater Bros. Charities, Takeda Oncology, and Teva Oncology.

About the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.lls.org or contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. E.T.