Blood Drive to Be Held In Memory of CHS Graduate

A blood drive is being held on Thursday, Jan. 9 in memory of a 2012 Coventry High School graduate who died in a tragic skateboarding accident last April while away at college. 

Jamie Mayer, who was a freshman at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, suffered a traumatic brain injury after he and another student crashed into each other while skateboarding on campus Apr. 8, 2013.

He was recovering from surgery while in a medically-induced coma when pneumonia struck him and he died 12 days after his accident on Apr. 20. 

According to Jamie's mother, Ellen Mayer, he received a lot of blood during his surgery and it gave family members much hope for his survival. She says Jamie would have embraced a blood drive in his honor as a way of helping others, providing hope and life. Thursday's event will take place on what would have been Jamie's 20th birthday.

The blood drive is being held at the Olde Theater Diner, located at 33 Sandy Bottom Road, Coventry, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Each day, the Rhode Island Blood Center is challenged with collecting up to 280 pints of blood to meet the needs of those hospitalized in our community. Each pint of blood is separated into three components – red cells, platelets, and plasma, potentially helping three people.