I wanted to share the note below from Sally Walker, Uni High Athletic Director. She shared the information with the Illinois Marathon Committee and I thought some of you would want it also.
Thanks.
Nancy McCarty
From: swalk...@illinois.edu
To: stanr...@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Autumn Awareness Blood Drive for Joe Seeley
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:01:17 +0000
Sure! Thanks!
Sally Walker
Uni High Athletic Director
NCAA SUP Regional Advisor
MVC Softball Umpire Coordinator
Sent from my iPhone
To: commit...@illinoismarathon.com
Subject: Autumn Awareness Blood Drive for Joe Seeley
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2012 17:05:31 +0000
Thought the members of the Marathon Committee might be interested in supporting this as well!
-- Sally Walker, Athletic Director
Urbana University High School
217-333-2484 (O)
217-377-5592 (C)
Hello parents, students, faculty, and friends of Uni High!
I am writing to remind you about the upcoming Autumn Awareness Blood Drive in memory of Joe Seeley.
The blood drive and activities are next Friday (November 9th!). Please see the below email from Athletic Director Sally Walker regarding specifics about the day and special information regarding donating blood. Additionally, attached is a flier that you may have seen around Uni and Kenney, feel free to print them and post them around. Please share this email and all attachments with friends, colleagues, and family members who may be interested in donating blood or making a financial donation.
A few quick reminders:
To donate blood, please sign up on the Google Doc (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewformformkey=dFhySUtfOVlnTmtqb...), and those under 17 please bring the attached form.
Wear ORANGE on Friday November 9th to show support for those who have battled or are battling leukemia
Pass this information along!
All financial donations will go the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society in memory of Joe Seeley
All the best,
Wyatt Bensken, Executive President
on behalf of Athletic Director Sally Walker and Student Council
Message from Sally Walker, Athletic Director:
Dear students, faculty, parents, and friends of Uni High:
Many of you are aware of the efforts of the volleyball and basketball team to raise both awareness and financial assistance in combating a disease that affects so many: cancer. We are writing to tell you about another opportunity that Uni High and the surrounding community has to show its support of such a worthy cause—only this time it’s impact is a little closer to our hearts.
Father of two Uni students, longtime secretary of the booster club (with his wife, Jan), coach for the Little Illini Soccer Club for many years, and Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon webmaster and key race leader, Joseph “Joe” Seeley fought a long and hard 21-month battle with leukemia that ended October 13th of this year. The impact that Joe has had on Uni High is outstanding, whether it be his involvement in the Booster Club, or even coaching many of our soccer players when they were first getting started in the sport. Through his work at Uni, for the Illinois Marathon, and for the Little Illini Soccer Club, Joe changed so many lives, and his presence will be missed by everyone that came into contact with him.
To help commemorate Joe Seeley’s life, filled with service Uni High, we would like to honor him in the best way we see fit: by holding a blood drive that will help others like Joe who are battling leukemia. In the last three months of Joe’s life, he was dependent on transfusions every few days. Thesetransfusions gave Joe extra months with his family.
On Friday, November 9th at the Uni Gym, which sits right next to Uni (1212 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana), the Community Blood Services of Illinois will besetting up multiple tables and accepting walk-in donors to donate blood. We ask that those planning on donating please sign up so the blood bank can be appropriately staffed (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewformformkey=dFhySUtfOVlnTmtqb...). You must be 16 years old or older and weigh at least 110 pounds to be eligible to donate blood. Additionally for anyone under 18 there is a donor consent form that must be signed for a parent or guardian (please refer to this website:http://bloodservices.org/highschool/index.htm). Additionally, to help us reach our goal if you’d like to donate blood but cannot make it on November 9th, you can go into the blood bank any day that week and tell them that this is part of the Uni High Blood Drive.
Beyond the core of this event (the blood drive), we want to raise awareness about leukemia; thus the entire day will be called “Autumn Awareness.” We will be having an information table with information and statistics regarding leukemia. We will be offering everyone an orange ribbon (the ribbon color of leukemia), and members of the Uni High Jazz Band will perform over lunch. We ask that everyone (students, faculty, parents, and friends) wear orange on the 9th to commemorate Joe’s life and to raise awareness about leukemia.
The last major component of this event is the opportunity we have to raise funds for leukemia research. We will be collecting donations throughout the day for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and hope to raise a significant amount of funds in memory of Joe Seeley.
We would like to see everyone wearing orange, donating blood, or participating in the days’ activities!
Please pass this along to friends and colleagues that would be interested in supporting such a wonderful cause.
Thank you for your support,
Uni High Student Council and Sally Walker, Athletic Director
