Total collections for the 2024 Battle of the Badges Blood Drive exceeded goal by an impressive margin this year.
The three-day total came in at 199 useable units of blood, 13 units above the original goal of 186. Friday saw a total of 55 units of blood collected, two below the day’s goal of 57.
Both Wednesday and Thursday’s totals exceeded goal with 78 units collected Wednesday and 66 collected Thursday. In addition to announcing the final totals, organizers also tallied votes throughout the week for the public’s favorite first responder agency.
This year’s winning agency was Fire and EMS with 61 votes. This ended a two-year winning streak for law enforcement which finished second with 49 votes. Emergency Communications finished third with 42 votes.
Following that announcement, Emporia Fire Marshall Reason Bradford spoke with local media and joked he was confident they would end law enforcement’s reign this year.
Bradford also thanked the donors who gave their time and blood this year.
Battle of the Badges concludes with a critical need for blood still prevalent nationwide. If you’d like to donate blood and want more information on nearby blood drives, visit Redcrossblood.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or download the Red Cross mobile app.
