Smith’s Houston Employees Donate Blood and Raise Money to Help Combat Blood Cancer

Every three minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with blood cancer. To help raise awareness, Smith’s Houston CSR team dedicated the first week of February to bringing the conversation about blood cancer to the forefront and getting our Houston employees involved.

They kicked off the week with our popular biannual blood drive, during which employees from our Houston headquarters and warehouse donated enough blood to help save 63 lives.

“We had a great turnout this year, even better than some of our previous events,” said Lois Wendte, Benefits Analyst at our headquarters. “I enjoy organizing Smith’s blood drives each year because our employees really love giving back, and we get to help save lives in the process!”

Employees also participated in a number of fun events for a good cause throughout the week, including a ping pong tournament and bake sale. Proceeds from the events went to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Houston chapter of Flashes of Hope, respectively.

Flashes of Hope provides photoshoots to children who are battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. It gives them a chance to leave the hospital behind for the afternoon and enjoy being a kid.

“For our bake sale, I brought in Malva pudding, a popular baked batter pudding dish from my home country of South Africa,” said Charlene Birkhoff, Director of Credit at our Houston office. “It was nice to help raise money so the children could have a fun photoshoot.”

From raising money to raising awareness, the week offered an opportunity for Smith’s Houston employees to join in giving back to those in need. We look forward to future opportunities to support our communities at our offices around the world!

Keep up with Smith’s upcoming CSR efforts and activities here at Smith Gives Back or on our Instagram (@smithweb).