HARLINGEN — Want to help local blood banks replenish their supplies?
Sign up to give blood or plasma Saturday for the “Do it for Love” blood drive at one of two Jubilee Academies in the Rio Grande Valley.
“Jubilee schools have come together to understand that there’s a dire need with our numbers in the Valley and in the Coastal Bend area,” said Sal Martinez, regional marketing coordinator for Jubilee Academies in the Coastal Bend and Rio Grande Valley.
Jubilee Academies is a public charter school district based in San Antonio. The district has campuses in San Antonio, Austin, Brownsville, Kingsville and Harlingen.
The district has partnered with Vitalant for the event.
Vitalant is a nonprofit organization that collects blood from volunteer donors and provides blood, products and services across the United States.
Vitalant will have a collection bus at both Jubilee-Harlingen and Jubilee-Brownsville on Saturday. However, due to COVID-related safety precautions, donors must go online and make an appointment, Martinez said.
The pandemic has had its effect on local blood supplies.
“We have been impacted by COVID in so many ways at our schools, either families of students that we service and even our staff members who have had to deal with COVID,” Martinez said. “They’ve also had to deal with members of their families being infected by COVID. This is our way of giving back.”
LOCATIONS FOR THE “DO IT FOR LOVE” BLOOD DRIVE
Jubilee-Harlingen
123 S. Palm Court Drive
Harlingen
Register online at bit.ly/3tkhQk3
Jubilee-Brownsville
4955 Pablo Kisel Blvd.
Brownsville
Register online at bit.ly/3cwWPg0
Donors can give blood at either of these locations Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
