State's Attorney Hosting Downtown Blood Drive

From the Will County State's Attorney's Office:

JOLIET, IL — Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow is partnering with Heartland Blood Centers and local mom Jennifer Babec to host the Taylor Babec Community Blood Drive from 7:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 22. The Taylor Babec Community Blood Drive will be held in the parking lot directly south of the former First Midwest Bank building at 25 N. Ottawa Street in downtown Joliet. The building currently is home to the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center and Will County Specialty Courts, both of which are operated by the State’s Attorney’s Office. Heartland’s mobile coaches will be parked inside the middle lot during the Blood Drive.

The location is convenient for employees who work nearby at the Will County Courthouse, Joliet City Hall and the Joliet Police Department, all of which are less than one block from the blood drive.

Everyone who donates blood will:

• Receive a $5 Target gift card as a thank you gift for donating.
• Be entered into a drawing at to receive a $100 gift card courtesy of State’s Attorney Glasgow.
• And receive one health insurance Wellness Point if you are a Will County employee or a spouse. Employees must register in advance at www.managewell.com and log on to the worksite wellness activity: “Blood Drive – Taylor Babec S/A.”

Appointments to donate can be made by calling Jennifer Babec at 815-325-4282 or by visiting Heartland Blood Centers online. Walk-in donors also are welcome on the day of the blood drive. Donations take roughly 30 minutes. Heartland is the sole provider of blood products for Silver Cross Hospital and Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center.

Blood donations drop significantly during summer months due to vacations and summer closings of local high schools and colleges. Twenty five percent of Heartland’s blood supply comes from school drives. Heartland is the sole provider of blood and blood products for Silver Cross Hospital and Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center.

Jennifer Babec knows first-hand the importance of blood drives. Her daughter, Taylor, required 22 blood transfusions that restored her health and her spirits during her successful battle against lymphoma when she was a little girl. Taylor's cancer is in remission, but Jennifer continues to coordinate drives so there is an ample supply for others who need transfusions.

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