Little League will go to bat for Becca

ALLENTOWN - The Allentown/

Upper Freehold Little League has a lot more than the new season on its mind.

The teams are joining forces to hold a blood drive on Saturday, April 28, to help support Rebecca "Becca" Wishbow, who was diagnosed with leukemia last fall. Becca is a junior at Allentown High School.

"Our Little League teams are terrific," said Dave Reeder, the league's president and chairman of the blood drive. "We try to instill in the kids that life, not just baseball, takes teamwork and that helping others by hosting blood drives is important to our community."

Reeder said that since the kids are not old enough to donate blood, they are asking their families, friends, community members and area baseball fans for support.

"We're hoping for a good turnout," Reeder said.

The Allentown/Upper Freehold Little League has hosted blood drives for several years in cooperation with the Community Blood Council of New Jersey Inc. in Ewing. This year, the organization is "Going to Bat for Becca" from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in a drive being held in the library of the Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School, located at 27 High St.

Becca is the daughter of James and Brenda Wishbow, of Millstone. She has two older sisters, Alexandria and Bethanne, and a younger brother, Zachary. She was diagnosed last fall with acute myelogenous leukemia, a type of leukemia that more typically afflicts adults ages 30 to 70. Very rare in children, the type of leukemia Becca has represents only about 15 to 20 percent of all children's leukemia and is the result of damage to the DNA of the bone marrow, according to information provided by the blood council.

Although walk-ins are welcome at the blood drive, appointments are preferred and encouraged.

To donate blood, an individual must be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds, according to the blood council. Questions about eligibility can be answered by visiting www.GiveBloodNJ.org or by calling toll free 1-866-244-8365.

To make an appointment to donate blood in support of Becca, call Dave Reeder at (609) 259-5801.