Donate Blood at Paramus Donor Center, Receive $25 Gift Certificate to Melting Pot Fondue Restaurant

September 3-5, 2010

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In an effort to boost the blood supply though the Labor Day weekend, The Melting Pot fondue restaurant is partnering with Community Blood Services to offer a $25 gift certificate to anyone who donates red blood cells or platelets from September 3 through 5th at Community Blood Services� Paramus Donor Center.

"Supporting Community Blood Services at this critical time during the summer months is a great way for us to give back to the communities we serve," says Will Layfield, owner of The Melting Pot in Westwood. "Give blood, get chocolate seems like a fair trade, too!"

The gift certificate, which is good for $25 off per couple, is valid at the Westwood location, 250 Center Avenue, and also at Melting Pot restaurants in Darien, Connecticut and White Plains, New York. For more information on the Melting Pot you can visit www.meltingpot.com/westwood.

�Having enough blood on hand during the summer and through Labor Day weekend, becomes especially difficult because donors have such busy schedules and are on vacation. Also, school blood drives, which provide about 10 percent of our blood supply, have not yet started back up,� said Garret Allen, call center manager at Community Blood Services.

�We are excited to offer this generous donation from The Melting Pot to our donors as our thank you for taking time out of their busy summer schedules to help save lives,� Allen added.

Donors can donate at the Paramus center, 970 Linwood Avenue West, on Friday, September 3 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or on Saturday or Sunday, September, 4 or 5 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Community Blood Services is closed Monday, September 6th.

Donors also can donate Sunday, Sept. 5 at the Closter Lions Car Show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A bloodmobile will be in the Closter Library parking lot at 280 High Street.

Call 201-251-3703 or visit www.communitybloodservices.com to schedule an appointment to donate. Walk-ins are also welcome but an appointment is needed to donate platelets.

Currently, there is less than a one-day supply of blood on the shelves, and all blood types are needed, Allen said, particularly Type O, the only blood type that can be transfused to patients with other blood types. Community Blood Services supplies blood to treat patients in more than 30 hospitals in New Jersey and New York.

Donors must be in good health, 17-75 years old (16 years old with parental permission) and weigh at least 110 pounds. All donors receive complimentary health screenings, including cholesterol and glucose screenings, at the time of their donations.