In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the healthcare system in the United States, the nation’s blood supply was in high demand and quickly depleting. The American Red Cross and similar organizations began increasing their efforts to host blood drives and collect as many units of blood as possible.

Recognizing this critical need and our ability to help, our Clubs launched into a partnership with American Red Cross, co-hosting our first blood drive on April 24, 2020, at our Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana / Joe MacPherson Center for Opportunity. A few weeks later, we expanded our partnership to also begin hosting blood drives at our Boys & Club of Irvine in early August 2020.

One year later, we have hosted 18 partnership blood drives at our Club sites—9 in Santa Ana and 9 in Irvine—during which we have collected 539 units of blood from about 550 donors, including 86 first-time donors in Santa Ana and 40 first-time donors in Irvine.

Each unit of blood has the potential to save three lives, which means that through this lifesaving partnership, our Club’s blood donors have potentially saved 1,617 lives – so far! Now that’s collective impact!

And we aren’t finished yet. We have five more blood drives scheduled at our Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana through November of this year and another four scheduled at our Boys & Girls Club of Irvine through August. If demand is still high, we will continue co-hosting blood drives with the American Red Cross for as long as needed.

To learn more or schedule an appointment to donate blood at one of our Club locations in the coming months, please visit www.redcrossblood.org.

If you would like to explore ways you or your company/organization can partner with our Clubs to make a positive impact in our communities, please contact David Blair.