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Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Exhibit of Original Works of Art to Support Puget Sound Blood Center’s Lifesaving Programs Bellevue Square to host family events each weekend including mask painting, radio promotions, prize giveaways and more SEPTEMBER 22, 2003, SEATTLE — Following more than a year of creative and collaborative planning among local and national artists, businesses, community groups, hospitals and patients, Puget Sound Blood Center and Bellevue Square will unveil Faces for Life™, one of the most unique and inspired art exhibits in the Northwest. Created to support the Blood Center’s lifesaving programs, Faces for Life™ will be held at Bellevue Square from Sept. 29 to Oct. 28, featuring numerous weekend events sure to keep art collectors, enthusiasts and families entertained. More than 300 vibrant hand-painted ceramic masks — from celebrities such as Gwenyth Paltrow, Suzanne Somers, Mariners’ All-Stars Jamie Moyer and Brett Boone, as well as local and national artists like Isa D’Arleans and Annie Galvin — will be on display throughout the shopping center, and available to the highest bidder. Most of the masks will be open to public bidding online at www.facesforlife.org. Fifty of the masks will be auctioned live during a gala fundraising dinner, Oct. 25 at the Seattle Grand Hyatt. But Faces for Life™ is more than an art exhibit. It was conceived in 2000 by Puget Sound Blood Center to raise money to carry on its lifesaving research, medical and blood and tissue services. Faces for Life™ 2001 sponsors Kemper Development and Bellevue Square recognized the significance of the Blood Center’s programs, and are again, serving as major sponsors for the 2003 fundraising event. “Supporting and nurturing the community in which we live and do business has always been the Freeman Family philosophy,” said Kemper Freeman Jr., chief executive and chairman of Kemper Development and owner of Bellevue Square. “The Blood Center’s Faces for Life™ is just one way to help meet the needs of the community and enhance the quality of life in this region and in other communities.” Though the Blood Center is best known for providing a stable and adequate blood supply, thousands of people locally and nationally have benefited from the Blood Center’s medical services and research. “Most people in the community are not aware that transfusion and transplantation medicine, areas where our research and medical programs have made significant contributions, have helped as many men, women and children in the past half century as any other healthcare development,” said Mick Larkin, director of development at the Blood Center. “So, it is particularly rewarding when people from so many backgrounds work in partnership to support our programs, with the mission of improving lives in the community.” The Blood Center’s medical services continue to help people with such diverse diseases as diabetes, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, thalassemia, leukemia, bone and other cancers and life threatening autoimmune disorders. The Blood Center’s research is internationally recognized and has played a crucial role in improving blood transfusion and tissue transplantation practices. Through the Blood Center’s pioneering work, blood centers across the country are now able to store platelets for longer periods – saving many lives. Without this work, today’s bone marrow transplants, in fact, would not be possible. With substantial expansion planned for the Blood Center’s programs over the next few years, Larkin affirmed that the financial goal for this years’ event is $500,000. The highly successful 2001 event raised $350,000 for the Blood Center’s medical and research programs. About Bellevue Square About The Puget Sound Blood Center ### |
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