Blood drive coming to campus Sept. 10

Shepeard Community Blood Center will partner with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10.

The Shepeard bloodmobile will be parked right outside the Ronald McDonald House, located at 1442 Harper St. All donors will receive a free T-shirt and the first 10 donors will receive a voucher for a free piece of cheesecake from Taylor-Made Kakes.

In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Shepeard is collecting toys for the Children’s Hospital of Georgia at this drive. If you’d like to contribute a toy, you can drop it off when you donate blood. The hospital is asking for new items such as coloring books, art supplies, and Legos.

Blood donors are needed now more than ever. The need for blood products never stops, not even during a pandemic, so blood donors ensure local hospitals are fully stocked with the lifesaving products patients need.

When you donate with Shepeard, you are donating locally. Shepeard supplies the blood and blood products to more than 20 hospitals within the CSRA, including AU Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia. Donating blood during these difficult times is one way to help those living in your community. And the impact is real; just one donation can save up to three local lives.

In order to protect the health of Shepeard staff and blood donors, all donors are being asked to wear a mask during their donation time. If you do not have one, one will be given to you. Shepeard will also be following CDC recommendations in regard to social distancing, and all donors will be screened and temperature checked before donating.

Contact the Office of Volunteer Services and Community Engagement at 706-721-3596.