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ALLENTOWN: 2009 blood drive hits home

by Peter Geier, Staff Writer
   ALLENTOWN — Giving blood has always been a passion of Dave Reeder, but this year, it’s personal.
   The face of this year’s Allentown-Upper Freehold Little League blood drive will be Mr. Reeder’s son, Nicholas, 15, who was diagnosed last May with leukemia and now is in remission.
   For about eight months last year, Nicholas was a cancer patient who received the kind of whole blood and blood platelets collected at community blood drives, Mr. Reeder said.
   ’We wanted to put a face to the reason why people should donate blood,” he said. “This year’s full circle. You never think ‘this is going to happen to us,’ and all those years of donating come back to you.”
   As president of the local Little League, Mr. Reeder is pitching to rally support for his fifth annual blood drive at Upper Freehold Regional Middle School on March 28.
   The league usually holds what has become its annual blood drive on its opening day, but decided this year to do it the Saturday before the season starts so it will be only thing on its schedule that day, Mr. Reeder said.
   Every year, 30 or 40 people give blood, but there are 400 children in the league from about 350 families participating in 36 teams — boys baseball and girls softball. Mr. Reeder is hopeful the community can do better.
   ”I have 36 teams with 12 kids on each team. If three came out from each team, that would be more than 100 possible donors. We’d collect 100-plus units. That would be mind-boggling!” he said.
   The Little League coordinates its annual blood drive with the Community Blood Council of New Jersey Inc. of Trenton. Each year, the league’s drive is done in honor of a person or organization identified by the Community Blood Council, Mr. Reeder said.
   But this year, the league blood drive will be done in honor of The Children’s Hospital at St. Peter’s University Hospital, Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, where Nicholas was treated.
   ”It’s kind of ironic,” Mr. Reeder said. “Nicholas has been involved with me during the past two years doing the blood drive, and this year, it’s being done in honor of the hospital that treated him.”
   Baseball is a family affair for the Reeders.
   Mr. Reeder has been with Little League baseball since 1999 when Nicholas was 6 years old, first as a coach and manager, then as vice president for a year before he became the league president five years ago.
   His wife, Debbie, a housewife, ran the Little League concession stand for eight years before she became the league secretary three years ago of which she laughingly describes herself as “the backbone.”
   The Reeders’ younger son, Christopher, 8, plays first base for the league’s travel team, Jersey Thunder, his father said.
   Nicholas worked his way up to the Babe Ruth League for which he played one year before deciding he prefers basketball, music and hanging out with his friends and cousins, he said.
   His illness was not the reason for his decision to stop playing baseball, he and his parents said.
   Ms. Reeder emphasized that though Nicholas was treated for a serious form of cancer and lost his hair during chemotherapy, he was never bedridden or sick and now shows every sign of successfully having recovered.
   She said the blood drive will give the family the chance to thank neighbors, friends, family and local businesses who helped it through eight or nine months of the hardest time — not least to thank the man Nicholas calls “Doctor Doug” — Dr. Douglas A. Cipkala, his treating physician.
   Both Reeder parents insisted the story is not about their family, but the importance of giving blood regularly.
   ”I mainly want to stress how important it is for everybody to support blood donations,” Mr. Reeder said. “It could be any family that needs it; it could be your family.”
The Allentown-Upper Freehold Little League blood drive is scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 28 at the Upper Freehold Regional Middle School library. Registration is recommended, but not required, Call 609-259-5801.