CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – LifeSouth Community Blood Center is taking creative measures to recruit donors.
It’s that season again where blood donation is highest in demand.
“You never know when it’s going to be you. Everyone’s got blood you can’t manufacture it has to come from donations,” said James Skahn, Community Development Coordinator of LifeSouth.
LifeSouth is working to recruit more donors with this weekend’s blood drive.
It’s from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its Fleming Island location.
The non-profit is still rebounding from the country’s blood crisis stemming from the pandemic.
“We need everybody. I mean we need everybody,” Skahn added.
The American Red Cross, which provides about 40% of the nation’s blood, says there’s a 10% decline in donations since March 2020.
The problem worsens during summer. Less people donate because of school breaks, travel and weather.
That’s why LifeSouth has an extra incentive.
The people who came out this weekend gave a bonus gift a tree planted in their name. Donors get a QR code and a treed id number which tracks exactly where in the world the tree was planted. Trees are planted all over the planet.
LifeSouth partnered with Forestmatic, a global non-profit whose goal is to plant 4 million trees in the next three years.
It’s a permanent token of appreciation to donors giving a pint to save a life.