This year, members of UW Lambda Phi Epsilon partnered up with Delete Blood Cancer DKMS to host their chapter’s annual bone marrow drive. To honor of one of their fallen brothers diagnosed with leukemia, the bone marrow drive became Lambda Phi Epsilon’s international philanthropy to increase the amount of registered donors from ethnic backgrounds. Hosted by all chapters annually, the cause perpetuates the need to increase the chances of patients finding a compatible bone marrow donor.
Just finished a kickoff meeting with @getswabbed, & excited for @uwlambdas annual bone marrow drive next week! pic.twitter.com/jRvbL1SAlD
— Kenton Naka (@ken10naka) November 6, 2014
Philanthropy Chair Jordan Tran organized the event this year with the intention of trying out new tabling mechanics. “We traditionally partner with the Puget Sound Blood Center to host our annual philanthropy event on campus, but we wanted to try something different this year. We’ve also teamed up with different sororities on campus in the past to co-host our drives, but I felt that our brothers were more than capable of running the drive ourselves, ” says Tran.
Prior to hosting the event, the chapter organized an orientation workshop with a representative from DKMS to train new volunteers working at the drive. The actual drive was held on Red Square at the University of Washington from November 12th-14th. Throughout the drive, Lambda Phi Epsilon members enlisted students to the registry by collecting saliva samples from cheek swabs. This year, the chapter registered 50 committed donors to the cause.