Annual Battle of the Badges blood drive scheduled for next week
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
The Breckenridge Rotary Club’s annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive is scheduled for Thursday, June 6, and Friday, June 7. The two-day blood drive will allow those who donate blood to vote for the Breckenridge Police Department, the Breckenridge Fire Department or the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office. The winner gets bragging rights for the next year.
The Rotary Club hosts the event each year with Carter BloodCare, a non-profit blood bank serving North, Central and East Texas.
Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare attended last week’s Rotary Club meeting to talk to the members and guests in attendance about blood drive.
The Battle of the Badges Blood Drive will take place on the following schedule:
- Thursday, June 6, noon to 5 p.m., Texas State Technical College, 307 N. Breckenridge Ave., room 103
- Friday, June 7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Stephens Memorial Hospital/Breckenridge Medical Center, 101 S. Hartford St., Carter BloodCare Mobile Drive Bus
Click here to register for a donation time.
Horan explained that 25 percent of all of the blood donations Carter BloodCare receives comes from high school blood drives, so when school is out during the summer, there are typically fewer donations. However, the need for blood does not decrease, so the blood bank created the friendly competition of the Battle of the Badges to encourage more donations.
During the meeting, Horan recruited a few attendees to help share blood donation facts, such as more than 25 percent of the donated blood is used for cancer patients, who need the extra blood to help keep their strength up; donors can donate blood every 56 days; and the blood bank needs donations from all different blood types to help keep up with the need.
For more information about the upcoming Battle of the Badges Blood Drive, contact Les or Sherry Strickland at lesstrickland23@gmail.com.
The Rotary Club of Breckenridge will host its annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive with Carter BloodCare next week. Last week, Colleen Horan with the blood bank attended the local Rotary Club meeting to talk about the blood drive. Pictured, from left, are Les and Sherry Strickland, blood drive organizers; Breckenridge Fire Department representatives Wesley Turner, Christi Tidrow and Malcolm Bufkin; Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare; and JB Sparks, president of the Breckenridge Rotary Club. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare talks to members of the Breckenridge Rotary Club last week about the upcoming Battle of the Badges Blood Drive, which will take place June 6-7 in Breckenridge. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
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