{"id":50641,"date":"2014-04-17T13:09:11","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T20:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=50641"},"modified":"2014-04-17T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2014-04-17T20:35:32","slug":"annual-motorcycle-awareness-blood-drive-set-for-may-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2014\/04\/17\/annual-motorcycle-awareness-blood-drive-set-for-may-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive set for May 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_50645\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50645\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50645\" src=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-1.jpg\" alt=\"Dozens of local bikers came out last year for the  annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive. This year's event takes place May 3. (Contributed photos)\" width=\"673\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-1.jpg 673w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-1-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 673px) 100vw, 673px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50645\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dozens of local bikers came out last year for the annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive. This year&#8217;s event takes place May 3. (Contributed photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>LANCASTER \u2013 Organizers are gearing up for an annual blood drive to promote motorcycle awareness in the Antelope Valley.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The third annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 3, at the Antelope Valley Hospital Blood Donor Center, located at 44105 15th Street West in Lancaster.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Blood will be drawn in Suite 305, and there will be a party in the parking lot, according to organizers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-50648\" src=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-3-300x259.jpg\" alt=\"Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive Preview 3\" width=\"300\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-3-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-3.jpg 566w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Festivities will include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em;\">Live music from the local band, Rukus;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em;\">A Grandmas Goodies bake sale;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em;\">Motorcycle relays;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em;\">A Car show; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em;\">Lots of great raffle prizes donated by local businesses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Raffle tickets and baked goods will be free for all blood donors, bike show and car show participants, according to coordinator <strong>Robin Merrick<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50646\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50646\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-50646\" src=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-5-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"The cause was inspired by Zac Lutz, who was badly injured in a 2012 motorcycle crash. Zac pulled through and eventually made it down the aisle.\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-5-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Motorcycle-Awareness-Blood-Drive-Preview-5.jpg 467w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50646\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The cause was inspired by Zac Lutz, who was badly injured in a 2012 motorcycle crash. Zac pulled through and eventually made it down the aisle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The cause, motorcycle awareness, is especially close to Merrick\u2019s heart. In April of 2012, Merrick\u2019s son was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash on 45<sup>th<\/sup> Street West near Quartz Hill Road.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zac<\/strong>, then 19, was riding his motorcycle to work when he collided with a pickup truck that u-turned in front of him. He landed face-first on the pavement and suffered numerous injuries throughout his body. Just months before his wedding, Zac was forced to undergo multiple surgeries, and the need for blood was constant. Worried family members scrambled together a local blood drive for Zac, which resulted in more than 103 units of blood donations.<\/p>\n<p>Zac eventually recovered and slowly made it down the aisle to his bride; while thankful family members committed to hosting a local blood drive each year in Zac\u2019s honor, according to Merrick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been truly blessed and continue to pay it forward once again with our third annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive,\u201d Merrick stated in an email.<\/p>\n<p>To make an appointment to donate blood at the third\u00a0annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive on May 3, contact the Antelope Valley Blood Donor Center at 661-949-5622. All blood collected stays at Antelope Valley Hospital, available to any trauma patient in need.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on the event, visit the <em>Payin&#8217; It Forward Motorcycle Awareness<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Payin-It-Forward-Motorcycle-Awareness\/241310849350983?fref=ts\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the inspiration behind the annual blood drive, view the video pictorial below:<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o8_wq6ARncA?rel=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Previous related stories:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"You\u2019re invited to the 2nd Annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive &amp; Fundraiser\" href=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/04\/24\/youre-invited-to-the-2nd-annual-motorcycle-awareness-blood-drive-fundraiser\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>You\u2019re invited to the 2nd Annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive &amp; Fundraiser<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Donations needed for teen seriously injured in motorcycle crash\" href=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2012\/05\/01\/donations-needed-for-teen-seriously-injured-in-motorcycle-crash\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Teen seriously injured in motorcycle crash<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LANCASTER \u2013 Organizers are gearing up for an annual blood drive to promote motorcycle awareness in the Antelope Valley. The third annual Motorcycle Awareness Blood Drive will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 3, at the Antelope Valley Hospital Blood Donor Center, located at 44105 15th Street West in Lancaster. Blood [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":50645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}