Give blood this holiday season
Photo by Sam Neufeld

Give blood this holiday season

The American Legion’s annual Holiday Blood Donor Drive is currently underway and lasts through Dec. 31. During this time, American Legion Family members are encouraged to give blood and host blood drives as part of the American Legion Blood Donor Program – an organizational effort that has existed since 1946 to help a lifesaving cause. Learn more at legion.org/security/blood.

For the 2021-22 membership year, the Legion’s Consolidated Post Report showed that the holiday blood drive brought in over 92,000 pints of blood from more than 56,000 donors nationwide.

The American Legion Blood Donor Program recognizes departments in two areas for blood donation efforts: post participation and individual Legionnaire participation. Post participation awards are given to departments with the highest number of participating posts. Individual participation awards are given to departments with the highest percentage of individuals giving blood to the program.

For information on how to donate blood, visit:

- American Red Cross, redcrossblood.org

- American Association of Blood Banks, aabb.org

- Council of Community Blood Centers, givingblood.org

If your American Legion post, district or department is interested in hosting a blood drive in your community, the American Red Cross recommends visiting this link to learn more about how to start the process.