Hannaford enables purchase of mobile blood drive bus for Red Cross
Ahold Delhaize's Hannaford banner, a longtime community partner with the American Red Cross, recently provided a gift through the Hannaford Charitable Foundation that allowed the Maine chapter of the Red Cross to purchase a new “bloodmobile” to help meet blood drive needs statewide.
The new vehicle, which has the capacity to take five donors at a time, replaces an older one that was driven an average of 1,800 miles a month and collected about 6,000 units of blood annually. That’s nearly 10% of the amount collected in Maine each year at 2,000 Red Cross blood drives.
“We expect the new, more efficient bloodmobile will spend approximately 19 days each month on the road and be able to collect an average of 25 units per stop," Ann Kim, Red Cross spokesperson, said.
Guiding Stars Licensing Company Director Jim McBride, who helps coordinate a quarterly blood drive at the Hannaford support office says many potential donors throughout Maine can’t make it to larger community drives for various reasons. "A bloodmobile can bring the opportunity to donate right to their doorsteps," McBride said.
The vehicle also will enable the Red Cross to hold smaller drives in outlying towns that might not have a good facility for a conventional community drive. This includes setting up in the parking lots of Hannaford stores throughout the state.
"Without the generosity of our donors, the Red Cross would not be able to fulfill its humanitarian mission," Kim said. "We are so grateful for Hannaford’s support."
The new vehicle, which has the capacity to take five donors at a time, replaces an older one that was driven an average of 1,800 miles a month and collected about 6,000 units of blood annually. That’s nearly 10% of the amount collected in Maine each year at 2,000 Red Cross blood drives.
“We expect the new, more efficient bloodmobile will spend approximately 19 days each month on the road and be able to collect an average of 25 units per stop," Ann Kim, Red Cross spokesperson, said.
Guiding Stars Licensing Company Director Jim McBride, who helps coordinate a quarterly blood drive at the Hannaford support office says many potential donors throughout Maine can’t make it to larger community drives for various reasons. "A bloodmobile can bring the opportunity to donate right to their doorsteps," McBride said.
The vehicle also will enable the Red Cross to hold smaller drives in outlying towns that might not have a good facility for a conventional community drive. This includes setting up in the parking lots of Hannaford stores throughout the state.
"Without the generosity of our donors, the Red Cross would not be able to fulfill its humanitarian mission," Kim said. "We are so grateful for Hannaford’s support."