LONDONDERRY — As the search continues for a bone marrow donor for a local cancer patient, members of St. Jude Parish will rally next month to gather donations of blood, backpacks and bone marrow registries.

On Aug. 22, the church will be the site of the “Triple Play” event, where guests will have the opportunity to donate blood, gather school supplies for needy kids and register as a potential bone marrow donor for Londonderry resident Gerry Shuck.

Shuck, in his late 60s, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in late 2008.

A father, grandfather and avid outdoorsman, Shuck lives in a farmhouse on High Range Road, where he enjoys spending time with his horses, goats and miniature donkeys.

In 2011, Shuck completed a series of experimental treatments at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, but the results were less than ideal. Doctors have since told the family that a bone marrow transplant is Shuck’s only hope for survival.

A matching donor hasn’t been found within his extended family, and though several local bone marrow drives have been held over the past year, a suitable donor has yet to be found.

While bone marrow and blood drives are a pretty regular occurrence at the Mammoth Road church, the recent addition of air-conditioning in the parish function hall has inspired parishioners to take the event to another level, organizer Vinny Curro said.

“We’re now able to host some events never before held at St. Jude,” Curro said this week.

The August event will mark the parish’s first ever summer blood drive. “We usually host three blood drives throughout the year, but the American Red Cross has an unusually great demand for blood products in the summer months,” Curro noted. “Right now, the Red Cross is in a critical state with an urgent need for donors of all types.”

The August drive will also give guests the chance to drop off items for the Back 2 Basics school supplies collection, hosted by local Girl Scouts Hannah Dowers and Erin McKenney.

School supplies of all kinds, including backpacks, pencils and notebooks, can be donated.

The Triple Play event will take place on Friday, Aug. 22, from 1 to 6 p.m. at St. Jude Parish hall, located at 435 Mammoth Road.

For more information on the bone marrow typing drive, contact Jennifer St. Peter at Rhode Island Blood Center at (800) 283-8385, ext. 762.

To make an appointment to donate blood at St. Jude’s Triple Play event, call the American Red Cross at (800) RED-CROSS.

Those interested in volunteering during the Triple Play event are encouraged to contact Curro at 437-8728 or vincurro@comcast.net.

aguilmet@newstote.com