Donate Blood, Get A $10 Gift Card: Highland Park Blood Drive

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Vitalant Blood Donation urged people to donate blood to help overcome summer blood shortages that come along with the "trauma season," which spans from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Though blood supply typically runs thin throughout the summer according to Vitalant, patient blood needs persist daily. To encourage the local community to pitch in, Vitalant is hosting a blood donation event in Highland Park on Friday, June 13 at City Hall at 1707 St. Johns Ave.

As a special thanks to all who donate, community members will receive a $10 gift card through Vitalant Donor Rewards and be entered to win $10,000 in a giveaway.

Donors impact the lives of people every day, like one dad who was critically injured in a head-on car crash just weeks before the birth of his first child. Dan Richmond needed more than 100 units of blood to make his survival possible so he could experience many milestones in his growing family.

“There are no words to describe, to say thank you enough to the individuals who donated blood that gave me the opportunity to be here, to be at my son's birth,” Richmond said. “I've seen birthdays, I've seen anniversaries. I wouldn't have those events, I wouldn't have those memories if people hadn't donated blood. The ‘pay it forward’ is exponential."

All blood types are needed for donations, especially those with type O blood, according to the Red Cross.

To make an appointment, visit donors.vitalant.org with code 10052972 or call 877-258-4825.