On Oct. 30, the American Red Cross and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church will be hosting a blood drive at St. Michael’s from noon to 6 p.m.

Red Cross donation drives are how they get blood to the hospitals and the people that need it to help save lives. The need for blood is constant, and volunteer donors can help to fulfill that need for patients. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every two to three seconds, and most people will need donated blood in their lifetimes.

If staff or students do donate blood at St. Michael’s blood drive, they should know that it may make them ineligible to donate at Hays High School’s next blood on Nov. 12 due to needing to wait a certain amount of time between donations, which is eight weeks.

In addition to just helping others, the St. Michael’s blood drive also gives people an incentive to donate, as they will receive a complimentary Halloween-themed trinket and a $10 Amazon gift card, along with a chance to win $5,000 gift card.

At St. Michael’s, the goal is to be engaged in our community in as many ways as possible” St. Michael’s priest Ben Houchen said. “When the Red Cross approached us, it was an easy decision. Blood is at a premium and is so desperately needed right here in Hays. So, creating a space to increase donations just made sense.”

To sign up for the upcoming St. Michael’s blood drive, you can go to the link here and look for the Oct. 30 blood drive at St. Michael’s: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=67601. Once selected, you can click “See Times” and follow the instructions to sign up.

25jhouchen@usd489.com