How do you get rid of those “almost Friday but not quite Friday” blues? You join us in celebrating #ThankfulThursday! Today we’d like to give a big thank you to John!

John is diagnosed with Factor V Deficiency and has been a member of the Chapter for 5 years. Prior to our chapter, he was a member of the New England chapter. John is the volunteer coordinator of the Men’s Group and donates much of his time to Camp Hot-to-Clot each year. Last year, he ran the check-in and registration table for our 7th Semi-Annual Cornhole Tournament and presented the Pinwheel ceremony at our Unite for Bleeding Disorders Walk! To top it all off, John currently serves on our Board of Directors as the Secretary. It was an easy choice for John to volunteer his time and donate to the Chapter because of his experience as a camper himself. John said, “When I was a child, I was able to go to hemophilia camp. It was the first time I felt normal with a bleeding disorder. I kept coming back and later my whole family participated in NEHA Family Camp. At that time, I grew into a camp counselor training program, and eventually became a group leader. I loved being able to pass on to a new generation the experience I had.”

Volunteering became a priority for John as he realized the challenges of the bleeding disorders community and the hard work necessary to keep the Chapter healthy, strong, and able to provide important services and community events. He added, “Without a financially healthy chapter, we wouldn’t have education events, teen leadership development, hardship support, and a vast support network for new families and bleeding disorder veterans to support each other… We only need to think back to a recent time when speaking about bleeding disorders was taboo and our community lived in an isolated and anxious state without what we have today. We must protect our chapter. The direst way to ensure its healthy future today is to organize teams for the walk and other fundraisers, along with making personal donations if we are able.”

We cannot say thank you enough to all the wonderful things John does for the Chapter! We truly appreciate it!