Antis Celebrates its 100th Blood Drive for American Red Cross

Antis Roofing & Waterproofing began regular blood drives in 2020, donating unused office space and turning each event into a party. Longtime volunteers and donors will also be named.

 An important milestone for Orange County’s blood donating efforts takes place July 5, 2023, when Antis Roofing & Waterproofing hosts its 100^th blood drive on behalf of the American Red Cross.

The marathon blood drive began in early 2020, when Antis Founder and CEO Charles Antis discovered that the Red Cross faced a critical shortage of blood after it had to cancel more than 19,000 drives across the nation. With quarantining and social distancing rules affecting all non-essential workers, companies that were typically counted on to open up their conference rooms for blood drives had to cease.

Antis happened to have 6,000 square feet of unused sanitized office space adjacent to its headquarters and offered it to the Red Cross of Orange County to host a series of blood drives. “There was a genuine concern if we couldn’t figure out locations to hold blood drives, we would be facing another health crisis for hospital patients depending on lifesaving blood transfusions,” said Becky Firey, Executive Director for the Red Cross of Orange County.  “I cannot stress enough what a lifeline it was, to have partners like Antis step forward during that time to open their doors to host blood drives.”

Three years later, the ongoing blood drive schedule continues in the same building. There are usually two to three blood drives each month, with more than 2,400 units of blood collected to date. The volume is enough to save over 7,000 lives.

To keep up spirits (and blood sugar levels), Antis decided to make each drive a party. Enlisting California Love Drop, the Antis blood drives include hearty lunches of Wahoo burritos and Yogurtland treats for dessert. The drives continue to bring out dozens of Antis employees, colleagues and friends.

The 100^th Drive event will include:

• A California Love Drop lunch with Wahoo’s Fish Taco founder Wing Lam behind the grill
• Live DJ
• Senator Josh Newman, 29^th District, will be onsite with his ice cream truck for the event
• Raffle prize giveaways to donors, including a Red Cross dry bag
• Super volunteer, worker and donor recognition, including:
  • Dottie Brown, who turns 101 years old this month and has been donating blood for 70 years
  • Irene Iverson, who has been a Red Cross volunteer for 40 years.
  • Kenneth Corron, a Red Cross employee for 51 years and Antis blood drive participant since 2020

The entire Red Cross board will attend the event and donate blood.

The Red Cross and Antis have established a strong partnership over the years. Antis President Susan DeGrassi serves on the board and the company pledges more than $15,000 each year to Red Cross blood drives and other initiatives. In 2019, Antis was named the American Red Cross Corporate Hero.

“Blood cannot be manufactured or stockpiled,” Firey notes. “It can only be made available through the kindness of blood drive hosts and volunteer donors rolling up a sleeve.”

About Antis Roofing & Waterproofing

Founded in 1989, Antis Roofing and Waterproofing is a fully licensed, bonded and insured provider of roofing and waterproofing for homeowner’s associations and multi-family residential communities that operates in operates in Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Utilizing innovative technology, comprehensive photo-documentation systems and the industry’s most experienced technicians, Antis has built its reputable brand on superior workmanship, honesty and transparency. Antis is not only one of the most trusted names in the roofing industry, but also a respected leader in community philanthropy. For more information, visit www.antisroofing.com.