All presenting blood donors have the chance to win a prize package worth $200

PEORIA, Ill. (May 21, 2012) - Memorial Day weekends are always packed full of fun summer activities. But as individuals and families kick-off their summer plans, it's important to remember that the need for blood does not take a summer holiday.

To help ensure a stable blood supply for patients in need this Memorial Day, the American Red Cross is encouraging all eligible blood donors to make donating blood and platelets a part of their summer holiday plans. Five presenting donors who give blood from May 24 through May 30 within the American Red Cross Heart of America Blood Services Region will win a GiftCertificates.com prize package worth $200 redeemable for items of their choosing. Winning donors can choose from restaurants, department stores, books, music, electronics and more!

"With the arrival of summer, blood donations tend to decline as eligible donors fill their schedules with vacations and other summer activities, leaving little time to donate," said Shelly Heiden, CEO of the Heart of America Region. "The need for blood is constant. As donors choose how to spend their time this Memorial Day, we encourage them to make time to help give life by donating blood or platelets with the Red Cross."

As part of the Red Cross' Live Life. Give Life. summer-long promotion (May 21 - September 5), all presenting donors will also be entered to receive a prize certificate package worth $5,000 redeemable at GiftCertificates.com. One lucky donor will be able to live a little, using the prize certificate to choose from hundreds of available prize options.

How to Donate Blood
Simply call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver's license, or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies more than 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.™



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The mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers that Americans remember each May are strikingly different from "Julia," the star of Obama's political campaign.

We cannot see helpless Julia as Molly Pitcher, stepping up to fire a cannon in the Revolutionary War in place of her fallen husband. We can't picture Julia taking risks to free slaves in the War Between the States, or doing demanding work nursing dying soldiers in battles, or being willing to endure walking alongside a wagon train to settle the West.

Julia does not work from dawn to dusk to build shelter, plant crops, harvest food to eat, sew clothes, haul water, or clean up waste as our ancestors did. Julia does not stand side by side with her parents, brothers, sisters, and husband to build a community and fight to defend it.

Julia does not seem to have any of those natural relationships most women have?she only has the parasitic "relationship" with the "government" with her from cradle to grave.

Julia doesn't need the skills our foremothers had...or even the skills of women today who work in fields previously only available to men. Everything is done for Julia through government benefits!  But remember, those benefits come from taxing someone else's work.

Poor hapless Julia can't even "focus" on her web design work without free contraceptives provided by the government to "ease her worries" about getting pregnant. When Julia does "decide" to have a child, she then sends the child off on a bus to be raised at a government school.

Our foremothers showed strength, independence, and courage. They had no guarantee of the basics of life, even water, food, or shelter, and endured unbelievable hardship. They persevered through hard times, held their families together, and passed along their culture, their traditions, their standards, and dreams of liberty to the next generation.

American women have helped build the strongest and most prosperous nation in the history of the world.  Through their own hard work, women reached the pinnacle of success in many fields: business, medicine, law, the military, engineering, space exploration, mining, construction, science, and government. They achieve through their effort and initiative and development of skills, a process we call earned success.

Julia, on the other hand, exemplifies learned helplessness and dependency. Her life shows the stark contrast between the vision of our Founders and the vision of modern "progressives." Instead of having the freedom to choose her own path and to succeed based on one's work, one's intellect, one's right to keep property, and one's personal values, Julia's life is subservient to Big Daddy government for protection to help her day to day. Although Julia doesn't realize it, she could lose her favored "protection" at any time her protectors lose an election.

Government will take care of Julia?after it decides she is one of the chosen. Julia will be allowed to live as long as she is perceived to be an asset to the state. Once she becomes too old, or too sick, she will be "comforted" and "assisted" in dying when the government decides it is her time to go so that "society's" resources can be spent on someone younger or more politically valuable.

It is a cruel irony that the very progressives who are reducing our women to this pathetic state are accusing others of making "war on women." This government nanny kills the soul and the creative spirit of strong women, and creates passive, helpless shells of women living a shadow life.

The spirit of America is not embodied in the faceless, passive cartoon character of Julia, holding out her hand for government benefits.

The true spirit of America is embodied in The Lady Liberty, a strong woman who values the law, stands proudly holding her torch high as a beacon to victims of tyranny and oppression throughout the world.

The spirit of women we celebrate each Mother's Day is embodied in the millions of women who dared to dream, who dared to take risks, who dared to explore the unknown and work alongside men to build a great nation.

I have spent a career in Medicine focused on empowering women, not creating dependency.  Let it not be said that freedom to choose one's path in life died on our watch while we made passive, parasitic "Julias" out of our young women.

http://www.aapsonline.org/

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EPA, FDA, NPS, National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention Highlight Sun Safety Tips for 'Don't Fry Day': May 25^th

WASHINGTON - As summer quickly approaches, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Park Service (NPS) to emphasize the dangers of skin cancer and has provided simple steps Americans can take to protect themselves. The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention designated the Friday before Memorial Day "Don't Fry Day" as a way to highlight sun safety.

"Skin cancer prevention and sun safety are important issues for EPA - our primary mission is to protect people's health and the environment," said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "While the agency has made steady progress protecting the Earth's ozone layer, the SunWise program and Don't Fry Day help teach children and families simple steps to stay safe in the sun and protect themselves from harmful UV rays."

"The risk of skin cancer is very real. It's therefore important that consumers prevent sunburn and protect themselves from the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging throughout the year," said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. "The FDA strongly recommends that consumers regularly use a Broad Spectrum sunscreen with an SPF value of 15 or higher in combination with other protective measures to more effectively protect themselves and their families whenever they are in the sun."

"Whether you hike or stroll, paddle a canoe or kayak or just sit in a mountain meadow watching the clouds go by, remember to put on your hat, apply sunscreen and have plenty of water to drink," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "These sun safety tips will protect your skin and I think guarantee that we'll see you often in your national parks."

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. and the most common cancer among 20 to 30 year-olds. It's estimated that one American dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Approximately 76,000 new cases of melanoma will occur this year.

To help protect people's health, EPA's SunWise program, one of the nation's largest environmental and health education programs, encourages kids and their caregivers to practice safe sun habits and raises awareness about UV sunlight that penetrates the Earth's ozone layer.

Here are some tips to help Americans continue to exercise, get outside and be SunWise this Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer:

Check the UV Index app: Check the ultraviolet (UV) index anytime by downloading EPA's app (epa.gov/enviro/mobile) to help plan outdoor activities in ways that prevent overexposure to the sun. UV rays from the sun (and from artificial light sources such as tanning beds) can lead to skin cancer.

Apply sunscreen and wear protective clothing: Apply a palm-full of sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher that provides broad-spectrum protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to exposed skin about 15 minutes before heading outdoors. Reapply every two hours. Wearing protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses also prevents sun damage.

Seek shade, not sun: The sun's UV rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., so seek shade during this time.

Although less common in individuals with darker complexions, skin cancer does not discriminate and is more often fatal for individuals with darker skin. Overexposure to the sun also causes immune suppression and up to 90 percent of wrinkles, brown spots, leathering of the skin and sagging.

EPA's SunWise program offers factsheets online that have state-specific information (epa.gov/sunwise/statefacts.html). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the states with the highest melanoma death rates include Nebraska, Vermont, Colorado, Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Idaho.

More on SunWise: http://www.epa.gov/sunwise

More on FDA sun safety: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm258416.htm

More on NPS Healthy Parks Healthy People: http://www.nps.gov/public_health/hp/hphp.htm

More on CDC skin cancer prevention efforts: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/

The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention social media opportunities: http://twibbon.com/cause/Don39t-Fry-Day-7/Join

Federal funds available through We Choose Health program

CARBONDALE - May 14, 2012. As the only statewide elected official from Southern Illinois and the chair of the Governor's Rural Affairs Council, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon is urging rural communities to apply for grants from a new public health program before the end of the week.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is making $3.3 million available through the We Choose Health program to communities across the state. Grants will be given to projects that expand access to healthy foods, increase nutrition and physical activity in communities, promote bike- and pedestrian-friendly travel and create smoke-free environments. At least 35 percent of funds must go to applicants in rural communities.

Eligible applicants include local health departments and other government bodies, educational organizations such as colleges and school districts, hospitals and other health care providers, and community-based organizations such as non-profits and volunteer organizations located in rural and suburban counties excluding Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will County. Applicants must submit a letter of intent by May 18 with complete proposals due by June 15.

"I urge rural communities across the state to take advantage of these federal dollars," said Simon. "A healthier state will help improve the quality of life in rural Illinois and lower healthcare costs."

Simon, as chair of the Governor's Rural Affairs Council, has advocated for expanded use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at farmers markets as a way to increase access to local foods and promote healthier eating and lifestyles. IDPH is represented on the council.

According to the IDPH, within the counties eligible to receive funding, less than a fifth of high school students report eating five or more servings of fresh fruit and vegetables a day, nearly two-thirds of adults and more than half of adolescents do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines, and 22 percent of adults and 19.2 percent of adolescents smoke.

Applicants must choose to implement at least two of eight We Choose Health strategies, which include coordinated school health, baby-friendly hospitals, worksite wellness, smoke-free multi-unit housing, smoke-free public places, safe routes to school, street planning models that accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic, and joint-use agreements.

"Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, are leading causes of death, disability and rising health care costs," said IDPH Acting Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck.  "But this is not something the health department, community organizations or health care can solve on its own.  Similar to the proverb, it takes a village to raise a child, it will take all of us working together to reduce chronic diseases and help people live longer, healthier lives."

The Community Transformation Grant (CTG), funded from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides IDPH with $4.8 million a year. As part of its CTG, IDPH developed We Choose Health, a sub-award program to fund organizations and coalitions working on chronic disease prevention at the local level. Organizations can apply for a grant of up to $300,000 per year for a period of a little more than four years. Organizations interested in applying should visit www.wechoosehealth.illinois.gov.

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