Linda Shannon-Hills
On July 10, the ballroom at the Ranch House was buzzing with donors and American Red Cross staff saving lives. The Red Cross set a goal to collect 64 units of blood, but with 85 donors, eight people donating “Power Reds” (red blood cells only), we collected 87 units, our highest so far.
We want to thank all of the SaddleBrooke Ranch residents, plus a few outsiders, for giving up an hour of their Saturday to donate blood, as the need is urgent. Many were first-time donors and many more were repeat donors—all are important to help others.
The volunteers helping during the drive are also especially important to keep things running smoothly. Thanks to Alastair Stone, Maria Astaire, Corbin Newman, Trish Minard, Dian Gown, Pete Watson, Nini Frank, and Pam Creighton, along with the nine Red Cross staffers.
Each pint of blood we collect can help save up to three lives and will touch the lives of so many more. What a great way to pay it forward and make an impact on people in our community and across the country.
Our next blood drive at SaddleBrooke Ranch will be held in the Ranch House Ballroom between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18. You can register to donate at redcrossblood.org. Enter the zip code 85623, then scroll down to our drive.
To make donating and tracking your blood donations easier, consider downloading the Red Cross app. Go to your app store, search for “Red Cross Blood Donor app.” The app is free, plus it provides so much information about your donations—when, where, and how much you have donated—and it provides your digital donor card to use as ID when donating, called the RAPIDpass, which you can fill out before you donate to speed up the history process. You can also see your medical stats from the last blood donation for blood pressure, hemoglobin level (iron), and pulse. It is so easy to use.
Please consider donating in September.