The American Red Cross remains busy in both collecting blood donations and offering assistance to those impacted by recent emergencies over the course of the winter and holiday season.
According to Jane Blocher of the American Red Cross, a guest on KVOE’s Morning Show on Friday, the national need for blood is beginning to reach critical levels. Blocher says this is not an uncommon trend during this time of year for several reasons.
With this in mind, Blocher says residents will have many opportunities between now and late next month to roll up their sleeves and “Give the gift of life.” For January, blood drives are coming up Sunday from 11:30 am to 4 pm at Flinthills Mall, with two appointments still available as of Friday afternoon.
Two blood drives are also scheduled at the tail end of January, Monday, January 26th and Tuesday, January 27th to be exact. The drive on the 26th will take place at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church from noon to 6 pm with the drive on the 27th taking place at Walnut Elementary School from 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
February, meanwhile, has a quartet of drives currently on the schedule:
February 3: 12:30 pm to 5:30 pm at Riverside Elementary School
February 5: Noon to 5:45 pm at First Church of the Nazarene
February 20: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Crosswinds Counseling and Wellness
February 23: 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm at Logan Avenue Elementary School.
As if the hefty schedule of blood drives wasn’t enough, adding to the hectic pace of the winter season has been several emergencies requiring Red Cross assistance, including two destructive house fires in Emporia — 1302 East Street on December 12th and 801 Clark Street Lot 5 on December 23rd which resulted in one fatality — just before the Christmas holiday. Blocher says those two incidents alone saw them providing services to nearly a dozen individuals.
When it comes to Red Cross assistance, Blocher says they provide for a lengthy list of physical, material and emotional needs.
For additional information on Red Cross services or upcoming blood drives, please visit RedCrossBlood.Org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
