Our community has always come together to help one another in times of need. Whether it’s overcoming unprecedented challenges during the pandemic or supporting local families following a tragedy, you can count on some helping hands to reach out. One of the ways I’ve seen this generosity firsthand is through all the years that I’ve partnered with the Red Cross to host blood drives. This year, we collected 469 units of blood at drives that I hosted from May through July – an incredible outreach of support when it was most needed to help save lives.

Blood and plasma donations are used to treat a variety of medical conditions, including cancer, leukemia, sickle cell disease, anemia, severe burns and trauma, internal bleeding, premature births and blood transfusions. Donating blood is truly giving the gift of life, and has become even more critical over the last year because antibodies from those who have recovered from COVID-19 are being used to treat severely ill patients. Further, more people are seeking medical treatments they had delayed during the height of the pandemic.

As we continue to return to normalcy, the need for more blood donors will continue to grow. Our nation has been experiencing a severe blood donation shortage for over a year, so I encourage anyone who can donate blood to do it. I want to thank everyone who has come out so far to donate for their immense generosity. Information about local blood drives and donation sites can be found by visiting the American Red Cross website. I will continue to do everything I can to support the Red Cross and its efforts to help our communities in these trying times.