By Mary Brienza,Staff Writer
On and off rain showers did not deter more than 59 people from attending the Hugs for Brady Foundation blood drive on Route 27 in Franklin Park on May 15.
Those attending donated some 44 units of blood and 16 units of platelets, foundation founder and township resident Sherrie Wells said.
Ms. Wells said she and her husband Mike founded Hugs for Brady in October 2009 after their son Brady was diagnosed with a rare leukemia called non-differentiated acute leukemia.
Brady lost his battle with the disease in July 2010, and Hugs for Brady was established as a foundation in Oct. 2010, she said.
The blood drive was held near the Confectionately Yours restaurant, inside an empty store space that was for sale in the shopping center on Route 27.
Somerset resident Laurie Vagrin, 39, said she had eaten at the restaurant during the week and saw the fliers outside the eatery about Sunday’s blood drive. She said she donated in honor of her mother and grandmother, and that she donates when she can and has been donating regularly for about five or six years.
”There are always people who need blood and it’s easy enough to do,” she said.
The Somerset Patriots minor league baseball team mascot Sparky attended the event and dancers from the All-Star Dance Academy in Princeton performed at the event as well, Ms. Wells said.
A planned car show, DJ, and inflatable jumping hut were cancelled because of the inclement weather, but there was still a great turnout at the event, she said. All those who attending the event received a bouquet of roses, Ms. Wells said.
Rosana Tabakci, who is from the Red Cross, said that this is the fourth blood and platelet drive with the Hugs for Brady Foundation.
Summer and winter are critical times for blood donations, and that more support is needed at those times, she said. The minimum goal for a Red Cross blood drive is 30 units of blood, Ms. Tabakci said.
”(This has) been a successful blood drive,” she said.
At the event, volunteers sold shirts, mousepads, and other items with the Hugs for Brady logo to help raise money for the foundation.
There was also an opportunity to donate money to purchase a Brady Buggy wagon for hospitals at the event.
Brady Buggy wagons are designed for children in the hospital so they could go for walks with their parents, and some of them have IV attachments, Kendall Park resident Debbie Pagan said at an earlier event.
Ms. Wells said that there is not enough awareness for pediatric cancer and that Hugs for Brady will do whatever it takes to make the lives of children with pediatric cancer easier.
According the foundation’s website, the foundation helps and works with the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Bristol-Meyers Squibb Children’s Hospital, and the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Foundation.
The foundation has previously held other fundraisers including other blood drives, a Hugs for Brady Gala in late January to honor Dr. Randy Siegel at the Grape Escape wine tasting school in Dayton that raised more than $30,000, and a Hugs for Brady Pancake Breakfast at the Senior Center on Route 522 in March that raised about $6,161.
The foundation will also be holding a Twilight 5K Run/Walk at the high school on Ridge Road on this Saturday, according to the foundation’s website.
The event starts with registration running from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., with the Kids Fun Run starting at 6 p.m. and the 5K walk/run starting at 6:30 p.m., according to the website.
The Kids Fun Run costs $12 and the 5K costs $25 the day of the event, according to the website.
Participants can register the night of the event with either cash or check, according to Ms. Wells.

