The Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC) is encouraging people to donate blood this summer, and they’re offering a limited edition t-shirt to those who get in first.
In honor of the July 4th holiday, RIBC and 3x Olympian Elizabeth Beisel are hoping to raise awareness about the need for blood donations. The summer holiday season can strain the blood supply, leading to shortages.
“Even if it’s one person, my hope is that one person convinces someone they love to donate, and then it dominos into a whole new group of people in RIBC’s blood donation circuit,” Beisel said. “Having a strong community that values donating blood is how we truly save lives, especially during the summer months.”
Historically, donations from 16-24 year-olds made up 25% of the country’s blood supply, according to RIBC. Today, only about 10% of blood donations come from that age group. Beisel is hoping to change that statistic by encouraging young donors to step up and help make a difference.
“Everyone plays a vital role in the stability of our blood supply, especially our youth and first-time blood donors,” said Caitlin Grimaldi-flick, Marketing and Communications Manager for Rhode Island Blood Center. “We join Elizabeth’s call to our community to be champions for blood donation and help local patients this summer by giving the gift of life. We hope fun collaborations like this one will help instill a life-long habit of blood donation for our younger donors.”
Anyone who is eligible to donate can get a limited edition “Team Blood Donor” t-shirt when they visit a RIBC donation location between June 23rd and July 7th.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
