By Roel Godinez
On Friday, June 29th, the Oceanside Police Department – Oceanside Fire Department, and the San Diego Blood Bank teamed up to host their Second Annual Safety Fair. This free event took place at 3410 Marron Road in Oceanside from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m..
This event was held in honor of Officer Brad Hunter who had been intentionally struck by a vehicle while pulling over a possible traffic violator on June 19, 2017. Hunter was then critically injured and sent to urgent care. He would not have survived if not for the blood transfusions he received while in the hospital. Today, he is grateful for the life he received through donated blood and hopes to continue to give back by promoting these blood drives.
Brad Hunter’s wife, Vanessa, says that the yearly goal is more than one hundred pints of donated blood; but the donations had exceeded double that amount in the prior year.
This is fantastic because one pint equals one life.
The process of donating is actually quite quick and easy. The entire process takes no longer than forty minutes and no prior signup is needed. One only needs to fill out a short questionnaire that confirms disease free blood. Once this is completed, the donors are seated on the bus and quickly blood tested. The squeamish need not worry about the long needle that extracts the blood as once it is in, it is rather painless. As a first time donor I can confirm that the medical practitioners are professional and pleasant. Once the donation of one pint is complete, the donor is showered in free snacks.
While the donation is an adventure in itself, the rest of the event was just as fun and interesting. Their were various kiosks which were hosted by Oceanside’s top safety organizations, including; the police department, lifeguards, fire department, and The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). These kiosks provided mounds of information on how to protect yourself and others around you from the various dangers of today. There were also some fantastic presentations such as a dynamic sparring demonstration by the Church’s ATA Martial Arts School and the CPR demonstrations by the Oceanside Fire Department. This event did not exclude the kids; there was a bounce house, a giant checkerboard, and free activity books.
If you were unfortunate enough to have had missed this event, all is not lost. You can still get your calendar ready for the next Blood Drive and Safety Fair on June 29th, 2019.
