Published by Kirby Winn on Monday, May 3, 2021 in News Releases
(May 3, 2021 | Davenport, Iowa) – In a change that will align its employees, donors, and volunteers of its four-state service region under a single identity, Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) is changing its name to ImpactLife. The not-for-profit community blood center is the blood provider to 120 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, and was previously known by three different names: Central Illinois Community Blood Center, Community Blood Services of Illinois, and Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center. The name change is effective May 3, 2021.
FROM THREE NAMES TO ONE
![Mike Parejko]()
In announcing the name change, Chief Executive Officer Mike Parejko (right) stressed the importance of having a single, common identity. “We are proud of our strong history and the reputation we have developed under our previous names, but the time has come to bring all of our team, donors, and volunteers under a shared identity that emphasizes the impact of our work on the communities we have the pleasure to serve.”
“Our organization will be stronger and more efficient when we operate under a single brand instead of three,” said Parejko. “With our growth, it has become abundantly clear this is the time to move forward under a single name.”
Central Illinois Community Blood Center, (based in Springfield, Illinois) Community Blood Services of Illinois (based in Urbana, Illinois), and Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (based in Davenport, Iowa) were established independently in the 1970s. The three organizations joined forces in 2010 and 2011 to form a single entity that today has a service region that extends from Madison, Wisconsin to St. Louis, Missouri. Since the time of their merger, the blood center’s legal and regulatory name (for licensing purposes) has been maintained as Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, but the organization has done business as all three names in various parts of its service region. The legal and regulatory name will remain unchanged after May 3 and the blood center will do business as ImpactLife with all communities and partners moving forward.
New Name and Logo
![ImpactLife logo]()
Previous Name and Logo
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The name change was led by an internal project team with representatives from all Blood Center’s departments and with market research provided by an agency with expertise in developing names for products and organizations. The year-long project included research with blood donors, blood drive coordinators, the blood center’s Board of Directors, employees, community members, and representatives from hospitals the blood center serves.
ImpactLife is now in the process of updating all points where the name and logo are used, including building signs, vehicles, printed material, and apparel.
About ImpactLife
ImpactLife is a not-for-profit community organization providing blood services to 120 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, as well as resource sharing partners across the country. Services extend from southcentral Wisconsin to St. Louis, Missouri and from Danville, Illinois to Chariton, Iowa. ImpactLife operates 19 Donor Centers and holds approximately 5000 mobile blood drives annually to provide blood components needed for patient transfusions at hospitals throughout our region.
For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org and find us @impactlifeblood on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat.
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ADDITIONAL MEDIA RESOURCES FOR NAME CHANGE
Tags
- growth
- impactlife
- name change