American Red Cross

Owner who received blood in time of need offers a ‘Pint for a Pint’ and thanks to donors

OMAHA, Neb. (February 1, 2008) – Omaha metro Culver’s owner Dave Weist, 44, says he has always tried to donate blood and give back when he can. Weist is offering a free pint of frozen custard to all presenting Red Cross blood donors at participating college blood drives in Omaha this month. The free pints of frozen custard are offered with his story of the gift of life.

The Weist family found out first hand how important a stable blood supply is in February of 2006, when Danny Weist, Bellevue Culver’s Manager, was in a major car accident. Weist and his brother Danny were both headed to a meeting at their Bellevue Culver’s store, in separate cars, when a car crossed Hwy 75 and hit Danny’s car head on.

Weist came across the horrific scene and stayed with his brother until they got him out of the car and off to the hospital. Danny had a punctured spleen among other injuries and used around 30 pints of blood in surgery. Danny lost part of his eye sight and now walks with a cane as a result of the accident, but he is able to do customer service at the Culver’s off of 120th and Miami St. today.

But that is not the end of the Weist brothers experience with blood transfusions. In September of 2006, Weist was in California for the USC vs. Nebraska football game when he slipped and hit his head. He was rushed to a trauma hospital where they found a bleed in his brain and had to remove part of his skull in order to help reduce the swelling in his brain. He was in the hospital for a month and received around 10 total pints of blood during procedures there and then in March of 2007 when they reattached the piece of the skull.

“I have always tried to give blood, and having something like this happen it really brings it to the forefront of your mind- to give back,” said Weist. “We are thankful that there was enough blood there when we needed it- but you hate to think of the consequences if it isn’t there.”

Seizing the opportunity to marry the corporate Culver’s Cares™ program and what they have gone through with needing blood made the ‘Pint for a Pint’ program the perfect way for Weist to give back to Red Cross blood donors.
Participating College Blood Drives

University of Nebraska at Omaha- Wednesday, February 6th from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Creighton University-Tuesday, February 19th and Wednesday February 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ABOUT THE RED CROSS
The Omaha, Neb.-based Midwest Region supplies blood products and specialized laboratory services to more than 80 hospitals in Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado and Kansas. In a lifesaving partnership with approximately 73,000 volunteer blood donors, 1,200 volunteer blood drive coordinators and 600 staff members, the Midwest Region organizes nearly 2,800 blood drives in an effort to collect more than 150,000 pints of blood each year for patients in need. The Midwest Region is one of four regions that make up the Mid-America Division of the American Red Cross Blood Services.

ABOUT CULVER’S
Culver’s restaurants are independently owned and operated in more than 350 locations. With the opening of Culver’s first restaurants in Arizona, Arkansas and Tennessee, they have since grown to operate in 19 states across the nation. Culver’s invests deeply in partnerships and programs, including its VIP scholarship program, Culver’s Cares™ charitable program and countless other franchise-driven local efforts. The American Red Cross became a national partner in 2007 and since then a number of local, regional and system-wide programs raised funds and awareness for their efforts. For more information about Culver’s visit www.culvers.com.
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