Local Boy Scouts host blood drive to help with regional shortage
LifeStream blood bank continues to experience a blood shortage due to the pandemic. A few local Boy Scout troops are looking to help by hosting a series of blood drives this week.
"As a scout we like to help people. And the valley is going through a blood crisis," said Michael Flicker, Troop 1701, Scouts BSA.
The majority of blood drives that would typically happen at schools, churches or businesses were canceled throughout the pandemic.
“We have on average a one day supply of blood available for local hospitals so this is very serious," said Dan Ballister, Director of Community Development, LifeStream.
Local scouts collected about 20 units of blood on Tuesday. “It feels fun...almost as good as an Eagle project because you’re helping save lives," said Parker Gonzales, Troop 1701, Scouts BSA.
“We’ve been looking for ways to serve our communities and stay active and especially coming out of the pandemic...we knew there were a lot of needs out there. One of the needs that we knew about was a blood shortage," said Jordan McCandless, District Executive, Boy Scouts of America.
The scouts are holding a series of other drives in different cities this week:
Boy Scouts of America at American Legion Post 739
44200 Sun Gold St.
Main Room
Indio, CA 92201
01:00 p.m. – 06:00 p.m.
Boy Scouts of America at Riverside Elks Lodge
6166 Brockton Ave.
Riverside, CA 92506
02:00 p.m. – 07:00 p.m.
Boy Scouts of America at Vantage Point Church
8500 Archibald Ave.
Bloodmobile
Corona, CA 92880
10:00 a.m. – 04:00 p.m.
Boy Scouts of America in Redlands
1230 Indiana Court
Conference Room
Redlands, CA 92374
10:00 a.m. – 03:00 p.m.
To schedule an appointment, visit lstream.org, call 800-879-4484 or download the LifeStream mobile app. Coronavirus precautions will be taken to ensure donor safety.
