Top photo, Charles Nielans gives the life-saving gift of blood this morning at Notre Dame.
By noon today, 50 blood donors had participated in the 12th annual Matthew Kota Memorial Blood Drive at Notre Dame High School in Batavia.
The event runs until 2 p.m. and includes a bake sale and donation opportunity for the Matthew Kota Scholarship Fund for students at Notre Dame High School and Byron-Bergen Jr./Sr. High School.
Jason and Nancy Kota along with their children Sean, Sara and Tyler are the hosts. The family lost their son and brother Matthew in 2008 at the age of 17 due to complications from brain surgery.
At this point, the Kota family has now collected 675 units -- and counting -- in their 12 years of hosting the blood drive.
