By GREGG MONTGOMERY
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
A Carmel pastor is being honored for his work to help save lives during the pandemic.
Photo provided
Father Richard Doerr is the pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. He partnered with Versiti to hold emergency blood drives at the parish during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. According to Versiti, they had 10 blood drives between March and August. They collected more than 700 pints of blood, which saved more than 2,000 lives.
On Saturday, Versiti honored Doerr with the Crystal Award for his help.
Doerr says he plans to challenge his brother’s parish, Saint Elizabeth Seton Church, to see which parish can give the most blood.
“Churches really need to step forward. I challenge all my brother priests, all my ministers to consider blood donation at their parishes. It’s very easy to do and a very positive experience for a parish family.”