Dedham Employees Participate In Blood Drive To Support Colleague

DEDHAM, MA - Nearly 50 Town of Dedham employees participated in a blood drive at the Endicott Estate on Friday, Jan. 21 to honor Laura Rutherford, wife of Dedham Community Development Director John Sisson.

Rutherford died in January 2021, three years after being diagnosed with a cancer called multiple myeloma. It would have been Rutherford's 52nd birthday.

“Everyone here in Dedham has been a tremendous source of support and comfort my family during this difficult time,” Sisson said. “When they approached me with the idea to honor Laura by hosting a blood drive in her name, I was touched and reminded again of the gracious, generous spirit the entire team in Dedham shares.”

In a partnership with the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the blood drive was held at the Endicott Estate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers were onsite to help with registration and overall event logistics throughout the day.

Rutherford received treatment at Dana-Farber, and Sisson continues to donate platelets at the Kraft Center every other week. In 2021, Sisson’s family raised $50,000 as “Team Mama Bear” in the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, and many Town employees and Dedham residents contributed to that effort. See related article.

“Within a couple days of sharing the event information and registration link with staff, half of the spots were filled, and messages of support were pouring in,“ said event organizer and Payroll Administrator Fior Griffin. “To know that our efforts would help to serve a great cause and that we could show support to our friend and colleague at the same time made the decision to sign up very easy.”

The Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital is accepting appointments to donate blood at by visiting the Kraft Center website or by calling 617-632-3206. Currently, Kraft Family Blood Donor Center is experiencing a shortage of Type-O positive and negative blood and encourage everyone to consider donating, if possible.

The Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Blood Mobile provides another opportunity to donate. The Blood Mobile travels to communities within the greater Boston area and partners with community organizations, companies, schools, and more to host local blood drives.

For a full list of upcoming mobile blood drives, please visit https://www.dana-farber.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/donate-blood-and-platelets/blood-drive-calendar/.