Be a Holiday Hero! Hop on Heartland Blood Centers' Jingle Bus Tour
Heartland Blood Centers is looking for "Holiday Heroes." The festively decorated Jingle Bus is pulling up to take your blood donation to help save lives. During the holidays, patients still need blood, especially those receiving life-infusing transfusions allowing them to be home with their friends and family during the holidays. Keep blood donation on your to-do list.
Amy Pedone, donor recruitment manager at Heartland Blood Centers, says, "December is notoriously a hard month to find blood donors. Employees and community members are busy at this time of year and it's difficult for them to plan a time to donate. The Jingle Bus makes it easy to include donating in their holiday giving."
Businesses, community clubs and others in the area have included the Jingle Bus in their holiday plans to make it easy to join in the giving spirit of the holidays. Heartland encourages donor to roll up their ugly sweater party sleeves and save a life.
You can schedule an appointment by calling (800) 786-4483 or text "APPT" to 444-999. Visit www.heartlandbc.org for lists all mobile drives and donor center locations.
Heartland Blood Centers, established in 1943, is a nonprofit, independent blood center serving the Greater Chicago area and Northwest Indiana. They provide service to 71 hospitals in 12 counties including Kane, McHenry, DeKalb, Will, DuPage, Cook, Grundy, Kendall, Lee, Ogle and LaSalle in Illinois, and Lake County in Indiana. Heartland operates under a volunteer donor system with the goal of collecting more than 160,000 units of blood annually. Heartland's first commitment is to meet local blood needs and 100 percent of blood donated is returned to the communities served by Heartland. As participants in a nationwide resource sharing program, Heartland stands ready to assist other parts of the country during severe blood shortages, national emergencies and increased demands by the armed services. For more information about Heartland or how to donate blood, visit heartlandbc.org or call (800) 7 TO-GIVE.
Jingle Bus tour dates
Saturday, Dec. 10: Immanuel Lutheran Church at Pointe Outreach Center, Crystal Lake, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 12: Zion Lutheran Church, McHenry, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.; and Jake Vinyard Foundation #JVStrong, hosted at Spring Grove Village Hall, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 13: Blast! Fitness - Bridgeview, from 3 to 6:30 p.m.; and Riddick's Ride, hosted by Village of Island Lake, from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 15: Old Second National Bank, Aurora, from noon to 3 p.m.; and Monsanto Adams Street Facility, Waterman, from 8 a.m. to noon.
Friday, Dec. 16: O'Donnell Elementary School, Aurora, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Knights of Columbus Council 717, DeKalb, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 18: Our Mother of Good Counsel, Homer Glen, from 8 a.m. to noon
Monday, Dec. 19: McHenry VFW Post, from 4 to 7 p.m.; Home State Bank in downtown Crystal Lake, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.; and Crystal Lake Community Drive, 6215 Northwest Hwy., from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 20: Kaneville Public Library, from 12:30 to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 21: Exemplar Financial in Crystal Lake from 3 to 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 22: Village of Lake in the Hills, from 4 to 7 p.m.; and Genoa Faith United Methodist Church, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 28: Pearle Vision in Crystal Lake from 4 to 7 p.m.; Northern Rehab in DeKalb from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Northern Rehab in Genoa from 2 to 5 p.m.