Ice cream incentive fuels Sebastopol blood drive

One of the key attractions Sunday in downtown Sebastopol was a common blood drive, sweetened with the incentive of a free pint of Screamin’ Mimi’s ice cream for every pint donated.

Conditions were ideal for any event centered around ice cream, even one requiring a needle prick. Temperatures inched into the mid 80s, and the town already was filled with a ready audience of people shopping the farmers market or driving through on their way to the beach. By late afternoon, about 125 people had signed up to give, making it the largest blood drive of the summer for the Blood Centers of the Pacific, which serves more than 50 Northern California hospitals, spokeswoman Natalia Hellems said.

Because donors have to be at least 16 and a minimum of 5 feet tall, it was an older crowd of ice cream eaters.

“We keep saying to ourselves, at least once a year we’ll give blood. But the ‘Pint for a Pint’ drive draws us in. It’s a nice reward that we can enjoy slowly,” said Dawn Larue, a retired nurse from Sebastopol who showed up midday at the check-in station with husband Rick. She had her sights set on chocolate sherbet while her retired engineer husband was hoping to score a pint of Swiss almond.

Wesley Lichau, at 19 one of the youngest donors, said ice cream was a nice incentive but not his only reason for showing up on a skateboard to give.

“It’s about saving people who need it. I figure there are people out there who need my blood more than me,” he said, recovering in one of four air conditioned collection coaches parked in downtown lots donated by local businesses.

Donors typically have their choice of snacks like Cheetos, peanuts and Capri Sun drinks. The red coupons for a pint of premium ice cream represented a significant upgrade.

Screamin’ Mimi’s owner Maraline Olson and her staff spent several days making, packing and labeling by hand 300 one-pint containers for the event. Several dozen flavors were prepared, including favorites like Cookie Dough, Coffee Break, Deep Dark Secret, Galaxy, Strawberry made with local berries and Mimi’s Mud, a customer favorite with espresso ice cream, cookies and homemade fudge.

Olson started sponsoring the blood drive more than 10 years ago after hearing donations drop significantly during the summer when schools let out and people go on vacation.

“It’s just something I love to do, and it does make me feel good. It doesn’t bring in extra business. It’s making people aware of the need for more blood in Sonoma County,” said Olson, whose boldly painted shop on a corner in downtown Sebastopol consistently shows up on “favorite” lists. USA Today named it the fourth best ice cream in the U.S., and it was singled out by Food & Wine magazine as one of the top ice cream parlors in the country.

Some donors had personal stories for wanting to give back.

Terriann McGowan, an agent with Better Homes Realty across the street, said her awareness of the need for certain types of blood was raised after donating a kidney three months ago to her 30-year-old son, who suffered from renal failure.

“I’m an O and can give to anyone but I can only take blood from another O,” she said. “If this saves more lives, let’s do it.”

Although summer is typically a slow time for blood donations, blood centers all over the country have suffered an alarming drop in supply. Consolidations in the industry, an unexplained surge in blood usage by hospitals and the Zika virus — people must wait 28 days before donating blood after traveling to affected countries — contributed to a deficit for Blood Centers of the Pacific of 3,000 pints as of late July. But since center officials put out the word, they have seen an increase of 42 donations a day, Hellems said.

Sherree Doss of Santa Rosa has been compelled to give ever since her son Donovan, 10, survived a rare cancer of the eye several years ago. He lost one eye but is thriving. But the stay-at-home mother of two said others need help, just like her son. She said she didn’t come for the ice cream. She went online looking for a donation opportunity this weekend and was happy to see there was a bonus treat to tote home to her boys.

She planned on cashing in her coupon for a pint of vanilla for Donovan and then buying a pint of chocolate for his 7-year-old brother, Nicholas.