On May 21, more than 30 people from Richmond County came out to donate blood to a Red Cross Blood Drive sponsored by the Hamlet Rotary Club. From 3 to 7:30 p.m., people checked in at the Tornado Building of the Hamlet Depot & Museums and waited to donate blood on a bloodmobile located in Main Street Park. To encourage community participation, the Hamlet Rotary Club purchased a $50 Walmart gift card. Each donor was entered into a drawing for the gift card. Longtime blood donor Scott Waters won the prize.
In its first blood drive, the Hamlet Rotary exceeded its goal by collecting 31 units of blood. Twelve of the donors were first-time blood donors.
According to the Red Cross, one pint of blood can save three lives. Such blood drives are vital for the Red Cross. The American Red Cross supplies approximately 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply. Eighty percent of the blood donations given to the Red Cross are collected at mobile blood drives set up at community organizations, companies, high schools, colleges, places of worship or military installations. The remaining 20 percent are collected at fixed Red Cross donor centers.
For further information regarding the Hamlet Rotary Club, contact President Tommy Halyburton at 910-331-1739. For further information regarding the Red Cross about blood donations, check out their website at www.redcrossblood.org.















