Jays to Donate Blood in Support of Zack Downey

The North Delta Blue Jays have accepted the Victoria Mariners challenge to all BCPBL teams to come together as a group in support of fellow teammate, Zack Downey who is fighting a battle with cancer. The Jays have made arrangements with Canadian Blood Services to donate at Richardson Elementary on Sunday, March 9^th.

A year ago Downey was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer that has required a series of chemotherapy sessions throughout the spring and summer months of this year.

The Jays have made arrangements with Canadian Blood Services to donate at Richardson Elementary on Sunday, March 9^th. They have allocated 17 appointments for our club between 1:25 pm and 2:40 pm. Cindy Hidenbrandt has a sign up sheet and will coordinate appointments for our group. Will you please post something on the Blue Jays website?

“Zack is a fighter,” said Mike Chewpoy, coach with the Victoria Mariners. “He is showing his strength in this battle as many athletes do when faced with a challenge. The Mariner family is right there with him along the way and the blood donation is just one way we’ve been supporting Zack and his family.”

The Victoria Mariner family would like to extend an invitation to the broader B.C. baseball families, the BCPBL, to show their support by donating blood to their local Blood Services chapter.

“As a leader in baseball in B.C., the BCPBL would like to extend this challenge to all teams in B.C. to step up and show your support for Zack and his family by donating blood as an organization”, said Ted Hotzak, BCPBL President.

The Downey family has incurred tremendous expenses in this journey and the Victoria Mariners have supported them in various ways.  If you’d like to help, please visit the Victoria Mariners website at www.victoriamariners.com and go to the “Help Zack” tab for more information on how to help.

For more information on the March 9 blood donation event please contact Cindy Hildenbrandt at Cindy.Hildenbrandt@TELUS.COM