Members of the City of Red Deer Emergency Services and the RCMP will be donating blood this month and are asking the public to join them to reach a goal of 500 donations.
Fire Chief and Manager of Emergency Services Jack MacDonald said the Sirens for Life blood donor challenge has been running for five years.
“We see the need every day and that’s the primary reason for us to donate. We exist because of the community, we serve the community and this is another way to pay back to the community.”
The blood donor challenge has been a challenge between the RCMP and Emergency Services but this year the two groups have decided to combine it and make it a cooperative effort.
“We’ve had a lot of fun with it but I like the cooperation side and it’s all in fun. It’s all about raising donations and blood for the cause and working with Canadian Blood Services,” said MacDonald.
The goal of 500 is only a part of Canadian Blood Services’ goal of 900 for the month of January. Anyone who donates can sign the tracking sheet for Sirens for Life to take part.
Donations can be made to the Sirens for Life blood donor challenge until Jan. 31st.
“Everybody has family and relatives or knows people in the City. You might be helping somebody that you know. Whether it’s a perfect stranger or family it’s just the idea of helping, it’s what we do every day working so it’s a natural extension,” said MacDonald.
Red Deer RCMP’s new Police Chief Warren Dosko said in his profession it is not uncommon to jump in to a new community and get involved in events like Sirens for Life.
“We have an appreciation for the importance of blood. Lots of times it may be going to our employees who maybe got injured on or off duty. It brings home the importance and what the need is when we see it daily.”
Dosko said that it is critical that people give blood, as it is a vital need in hospitals and an important part of treatment to get better for many people.
“It’s something that we have that doesn’t cost us anything to do and can make a big difference. If you have an opportunity, get out and donate.”
Community Development Coordinator Jenny Spurr with the Canadian Blood Services said that December ended up being a very good month during which they were able to meet their targets.
“We really like to encourage people to come out and donate. We want to make sure that as we head into the New Year we have a strong healthy supply of blood for everybody,” said Spurr.
Spurr said that coming out of the holiday season as we just have it is an important time to donate because people are away or are otherwise not available to donate in the month of December.
Donations can be made at the Red Deer Blood Donor Clinic and for more information visit www.blood.ca.
kpalardy@reddeerexpress.com
