Florida’s Blood Centers want you to help save a life by supporting local law enforcement during its Guns and Hoses Blood Drive event.
From July 14 through Aug. 20, Central Florida’s fire, police and sheriff’s departments are encouraging its communities to donate blood and vote for their favorite agency.
Donors can hop on the Big Red Bus or visit one of the Blood Centers’ local branches to support firefighters by choosing “hoses” or police officers and sheriff deputies by choosing “guns.”
Lucky for the UCF community, there’s a branch on campus in MOD 629, behind Classroom Building 1.
This blood drive is the third installment of its kind but the first to include firefighters, said Pat Michaels, executive director of public relations at Central Florida’s Blood Centers.
For the past two years, the organization hosted a Battle of the Badges Blood Drive between the police department and the sheriff department.
According to Michaels, firefighters were included this year because they are known as first responders, those who are first on the scene of trauma-related events, and would be of help to get the community involved.
“We opened it to them because a lot of first responders knew the importance of firefighters because they know very well the necessity of blood donations,” Michaels said. “They deal with accidents and when people need blood transfusions. Some of our highest donations come from first responders.”
Pat McCabe, assistant fire chief at the Winter Park Fire Rescue Department, said the summer months are a high-trauma time at local hospitals because more people traveling and branching outside of their comfort zones, so blood donations are needed at an all-time high.
It takes 48 hours from the time a donation is received to be given to a trauma victim, said David Wiggins, director of donor recruitment for Florida’s Blood Centers, in an e-mail.
McCabe sees the UCF community as an important stakeholder in making the blood drive a success.
“The great thing about the university is that there is a large concentration of people who get involved,” McCabe said. “Anytime you have those things together, it’s going to be successful, because young people want to be involved in programs and in the community, and I think there’s a larger chance of people interacting and encouraging each other to donate.”
The Florida’s Blood Centers’ campus location is open Monday through Friday during the blood drive, but it will be closed Aug. 9 through Aug. 20.
The “Big Red Bus” will be on campus on the south side of the Student Union from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 9.
By voting for either “guns” or “hoses,” students and faculty will receive a commemorative Guns and Hoses T-shirt. As of July 26, the Hoses are leading the Guns 691 votes to 425 votes, Michaels said.
This comes as no surprise to McCabe, who said “[Florida’s Blood Centers] wanted the blood drive to be successful, and anytime you put the firefighters against the cops, we always win. We’re the good guys.”
But he said the real winners are the people who need the blood donations.
“The more blood out in the community, the better,” McCabe said.
Participants can track the blood drive’s progress at www.floridasbloodcenters.org/gunsandhoses.
The winner of the Guns and Hoses Blood Drive will be announced Aug. 20, and the results will be posted on the website.
Be the first to comment on this article!