Fourth Annual Fiz's Drive - Oct. 6, 2011 - 12-5:30 p.m. - Ross Sports Center

Fourth Annual Fiz's Drive
Thursday, October 6, 2011
12-5:30 p.m.
Ross Sports Center - Colchester, Vt.

Saint Michael's hosted the fourth annual "Fiz's Drive," an American Cancer Society-sponsored blood drive, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, from 12-5:30 p.m. at the Ross Sports Center.

The annual event honors the legacy of Mark Fizulich '97, a standout four-year member of the Saint Michael's men's basketball team and 2006 SMC Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, who lost his battle with leukemia on March 9, 2008, at age 32.

This year's event surpassed the Red Cross' goal for the Drive, as 136 prospective donors produced 127 pints of blood. Another 19 donors participated virtually by giving at their local Red Cross chapter, bringing the total pints donated to 126.

In the first four years that Saint Michael's has hosted "Fiz's Drive", 549 life-saving pints of blood have been donated in Fiz's memory!

The inaugural Fiz's Drive, held on Oct. 21, 2008, netted 137 pints of blood on campus, and another 15 donated virtually at other locations across the country. The 137 pints collected on campus made the inaugural Fiz's Drive the most successful on-campus drive in 10 years!

The second annual Fiz's Drive took place on Oct. 20, 2009, and raised another 124 pints of blood.

The third annual Fiz's Drive, held on Oct. 5, 2010, surpassed the Red Cross' goal for the Drive, as 135 prospective donors produced 113 pints of blood. Another 14 donors participated virtually by giving at their local Red Cross chapter that week, bringing the total pints donated to 127.

For more information on Fiz's Drive and how you can help, contact Heidi St. Peter '98 in the Saint Michael's Mobilization Of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) office at 802.654.2674 or hstpeter2@smcvt.edu, or Dave Carmichael at the Northern Vermont chapter of the American Red Cross at 802.660.9130

For information on the inaugural Fiz's Drive, including video of the jersey retirement ceremony, pictures, Mark's biography, his Hall of Fame ceremony, and much more, visit here.

Thank you to all who made the fourth annual Fiz's Drive a trememdous success. The Red Cross, MOVE and Saint Michael's Athletics are proud to announce that 549 productive units of blood have been donated in the first four years of Fiz's Drive!

The first 100 donors at the inaugural Fiz's Drive received this T-shirt! 

A gain, thanks to all who generously gave the gift of life in Mark's memory!

A note from Saint Michael's Associate Director of Athletics Chris Kenny

Dear Friends,

I hope this note finds you and yours doing well.  I am writing to you today to let you know that we are preparing to host the Fourth Annual Fiz's Drive on campus this fall. Fiz's Drive is an annual blood drive, hosted by Saint Michael's, in honor of the memory of Mark Fizulich '97. This year's event will take place on Thursday, October 6, from 12 - 5:30 p.m., here at the Ross Sports Center - a place where Mark spent a lot of time during his undergraduate years on campus.

If you can't be here at Saint Michael's with us on the sixth, please consider participating in Fiz's Drive virtually, by making a donation at your local Red Cross or at an affiliated blood drive in your area. If you participate, please let us know by e-mailing me at ckenny@smcvt.edu - be sure to let me know where and when you donated. We will count all virtual donations in the final Fiz's Drive tally! This event is sponsored by the College's MOVE program, Saint Michael's Athletics, and the Burlington chapter of the American Red Cross.

Mark was a much-loved member of the Saint Michael's community, and a legendary student-athlete as a member of the Purple Knight men's basketball team. He was enshrined in the College's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

On March 9, 2008, Mark passed away after an epic fight with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He was just 32 years of age. Throughout Mark's battle with his disease, he relentlessly advocated for blood and platelet donation, and for the bone marrow donor registry. In his online journal in March of 2007, he wrote, "A great way to help blood cancer patients is to give blood, if you can...I can't tell you how many blood transfusions I've received during the last two years, but without them I would never have been able to get the therapy I needed. So, go give blood, and know you are helping people who can't make the blood for themselves."

We hope you can participate in this meaningful event - whether it means a trip back "home" here to Saint Michael's, or by doing so in spirit wherever you happen to be. For more information on Fiz's Drive, or on the remarkable man we knew as "Fiz," please visit our website at www.smcathletics.com, and click the button for "Fiz's Drive."

All the best to you and yours,

Chris Kenny
Associate Director of Athletics
Saint Michael's College
Colchester, VT 05439
www.smcathletics.com