13th Annual Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge

Vitalant (formerly Blood Centers of the Pacific)

Join local firefighters for the 13th Annual Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge. Pay it forward and do something amazing. It only takes about an hour and when you do good for others, you do good for yourself. Together, we can do amazing. When you give you will receive a special Bucket Brigade T-shirt.

For your donation, please arrive well-hydrated, well-nourished, and with photo ID. For eligibility information, visit www.vitalant.org.

The Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge is a friendly competition among participating fire departments to see which department can host the largest blood drive by enlisting fire fighters, friends, family, and members of the community to donate lifesaving blood during
the holiday season.

The winter and holiday season is always a challenging time for blood collections due to rainy weather, busy holiday schedules, vacation and flu season. This November the devastating Camp Fire in Paradise, CA, has forced more than 52,000 people to evacuate, destroyed more than 9,000 homes and along with the Woolsey Fire near Malibu has taken
more than 10,000 units of blood out of the collections supply.

These recent wildfires as well as the everyday emergencies we see and read about serve as a reminder of the importance of keeping an adequate blood supply – both locally and
nationally. Keeping shelves stocked by donating blood is one of many ways community members can come together to support one another. It’s the blood on the shelves today that saves lives tomorrow.

Since 2006, fire departments participating in the Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge have recruited more than 10,000 participants who donated thousands of units of blood for patients in Northern California hospitals. In the previous competition Healdsburg Fire Department took home the coveted Bucket Trophy with 100 participants, followed by Windsor in second place, and then Geyserville in third place for a grand total of 857 blood donors!.

The participating firefighters recognize the significance of their blood drives. “We get to achieve our own personal goals and dreams by being firefighters every day. For two months of the year the Vitalant Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge allows us to help community members realize their life-transforming potential,” said Jason Boaz of the Healdsburg Fire Department and winner of last year’s challenge.

Historically, the Bucket Brigade idea comes from the Great London Fire of 1666 that found community members in “brigades” as they passed buckets of water from the city’s water supply to the blaze that endangered their town and community. Vitalant Recruitment Manager Andrea Casson brought these participating fire departments together 13 years ago with the idea of “creating a modern Bucket Brigade that gathers our community in an effort to save lives through blood donations.”

Twenty-three fire departments are hosting 21 blood drives. To find one near you, please see the complete list below. To make an appointment, visit www.bloodheroes.com or call 888-393-GIVE (4483).