NATIONWIDE RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE HONORS 100 YEARS OF SCUDDER CONTRIBUTIONS
The Scudder Association
NEWS RELEASE
Media contacts:
Scudder Association:
Katie Grose
207-450-9154 (cell)
Dr. Robert Fish
806-916-3286 (cell)
Red Cross:
Media Line
202-303- 5551
(New York, NY) – The Directory of Family Associations and Organizations (www.familyassociations.com) lists nearly 550 surnames with formal organizations, but only one is celebrating National Blood Donor Month and its 100th anniversary with a nationwide blood drive organized through the American Red Cross. The Scudder Association, which boasts more than 500 members throughout the world, is honoring one of its founding members, Dr. John Scudder III (1889-1970), whose advances in preserving blood before WWII helped to save many lives on the battlefield.
Starting with the Association’s Inaugural Centennial Celebration at the Yale Club of New York on January 21, 2012, Scudders across the country will begin organizing blood drives and donating blood to the Red Cross.
“Research shows that only about 3 out of 100 people in America give blood each year,” said Dr. Richard J. Benjamin, Chief Medical Officer of the American Red Cross. “As the Red Cross blood supply reaches a winter low, there is an urgent need to encourage each and every donor to give the gift of life.
“We are delighted that the Scudder Family Association has chosen to celebrate their Centennial in 2012 by asking family, friends and colleagues to donate blood.”
In addition to the New York festivities, Scudder organizers will be reaching out to the 360 Scudders in Indiana, 200 in Illinois and 400 in New Jersey to organize local blood drives in celebration of the numerous contributions of Scudder family members, who first came to the United States from Kent, England in the 1600s.
"We are optimistic that our drive will be successful and hope that other family and philanthropic organizations will want to organize similar efforts," said Robert H. Fish, DMD, president of the Scudder Family Association.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York showcases one of the many accomplished Scudder family members, Janet Scudder (1869-1940). She created the Museum’s Frog Fountain and was a leading feminist and suffragette of her time. Rev. Dr. John Scudder’s daughter, Ida, was a member of Cornell Medical School’s first graduating class that allowed women. The doctors, along with more than 42 members of their family, have been responsible for building hospitals and serving as medical missionaries in India and throughout Asia. Scudders have fought in the American Revolution and were founders of Princeton University. Ulysses S. Grant, Marjorie Merriwether Post, Frederick Law Olmstead and Franklin Delano Roosevelt all have Scudders in their family trees. Current celebrities with Scudder ties include Dina Merrill, and US presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman. Anthony Perkins, Clint Eastwood, and Tuesday Weld are descendants of Elizabeth Scudder.
Today, members of the Scudder Association provide scholarships to students interested in pursuing careers in medicine, education and theology. Funds also are raised to continue to support charities in India. For more information, visit www.scudder.org.
The Red Cross needs to collect 22,000 units of blood each weekday, plus about 15,000 units every weekend, to meet patient needs. The organization says that every two seconds, someone needs blood in the United States. To find out how you can donate blood or set up your own blood drive in your local community, visit www.redcrossblood.org/ or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733 2767).
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