Press release:
Local residents and the American Red Cross will join together for a “Community That Cares” blood drive from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2, at the Clarion Hotel at 8250 Park Road in Batavia.
The blood drive is a Red Cross initiative to help engage local citizens and boost regional blood supplies by enlisting community support.
All presenting donors during the month of August will receive a coupon for a free 57.6 oz. container of any variety of Turkey Hill SunBrew Iced Tea. Additionally, all presenting donors will receive a flier for Bob Evans restaurant in Batavia. For all donors who visit this restaurant on Aug. 2 and redeem the flier, Bob Evans will donate 15 percent of their total bill to the American Red Cross Blood Services.
With extreme heat keeping some donors at home and severe storms forcing the cancellation of dozens of blood drives earlier in the month, the Red Cross continues to have an emergency need for donors of all blood types. Red Cross blood donations are at the lowest they have been in 15 years.
Public support from the organization’s late-June appeal helped temporarily stop a decline in the blood supply. However, the mid-week Independence Day and extreme summer weather have contributed to a decrease in donations lately. Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood.
As the nation’s single largest supplier of blood and blood products, the Red Cross is dedicated to ensuring that every patient who needs a lifesaving transfusion is able to receive one. In fact, the Red Cross must collect more than 17,000 pints of blood each day to meet the needs of patients at more than 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country.
It is the blood on the shelves today that helps save lives tomorrow. The American Red Cross is urging all eligible donors to help keep the blood supply strong this summer by making an appointment to donate blood today by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767 ) or by visiting redcrossblood.org.
