GIVE BLOOD AND EAT BBQ

ANOTHER CALL FOR BLOOD

There are a lot of reasons to give blood. But I keep coming back to two.

The first is simple: someone is going to need it.

Our local blood supply needs to be replenished, and this weekend gives us another opportunity, back-to-back weekends, to show up for our neighbors and do something that could quite literally save a life.

Maybe someday, that someone will be you. Or your mom. Your dad. Your grandparent. Your child. Someone you love may find themselves in an emergency, recovering from an accident, facing surgery, or dealing with an unexpected medical complication. In those moments, having blood available can mean the difference between life and death.

When we give blood, we may never know whose life we helped. We may never meet them. But somewhere, a family may get more time with someone they love because a stranger decided to show up and give a little of what they had.

There’s another reason this particular blood drive caught my attention: it's also a community event.

The blood drive is happening at Coop’s on Commerce, and they’re having a barbecue on the same day.

So, let me get this straight: You can give blood, eat barbecue, and see people you know?

I mean…why not?

Of course, make sure you meet the blood donation requirements and follow the guidelines provided by the blood drive. But if you’re able to donate, this feels like a pretty good opportunity to do something good for someone else while also taking part in the kind of simple, local gathering that makes a community feel like a community.

You may come to give blood.

You may stay for the barbecue AND A MOCKTAIL.

You might run into somebody you haven’t seen in a while.

And somewhere down the road, someone may get to go home to the people who love them because you showed up.

Give a little. Eat a little. See your neighbors. Leave a little better.