LifeStream Blood Bank named a California Nonprofit of the Year

LifeStream Blood Bank, which serves hospitals in six Southern California counties, has been named a 2022 California Nonprofit of the Year by Assembly member Eloise Gomez Reyes.

LifeStream is one of more than 100 nonprofits that were honored on California Nonprofits Day by state senators and Assembly members for their contributions to the communities they serve.

“We are honored to be among the wonderful nonprofits across California working to better our communities,” Dr. Rick Axelrod, LifeStream’s president, chief executive officer and medical director, said in a news release.

LifeStream is a nonprofit blood bank that provides blood products and services to more than 80 Southern California hospitals. To meet the needs of patients, LifeStream must collect 500 blood donations daily, according to the news release.

LifeStream has donor centers in San Bernardino, Riverside, Ontario, Victorville, Murrieta, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Placentia and Hemet and it conducts about 1,700 mobile blood drives annually throughout its service area at schools, churches, businesses, government offices, hospitals and service clubs.

For information about LifeStream Blood Bank or to make an appointment to donate blood, go to LStream.org or call 800-879-4484. Walk-ins are also welcome at all LifeStream donor centers and mobile blood drives.

“Nonprofit organizations play such a critical role in our communities, and the last two years of the pandemic have only served to highlight that,” Jan Masaoka, chief executive officer of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), said in the news release. The association serves as a partner for the California Nonprofit of the Year awards program.

“California Nonprofit of the Year gives elected officials the opportunity to shine a light on the important work nonprofits are doing in their districts and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits in our communities,” Masaoka said.

According to “Causes Count,” a 2019 report commissioned by CalNonprofits, the nonprofit sector is the fourth-largest industry in the state, employing more than 1.2 million people. Each year, California nonprofits generate more than $273 billion in revenue and bring in $40 billion in revenue from outside of California, according to the news release. The unpaid labor contributed by volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to 330,000 full-time jobs every year.