Having survived the busiest day of the year for any florist, Don Coleman can take a breather and return to business as usual. While Valentine’s Day may be the holiday in which Mayfield Florist delivers the most flowers, there’s also one day every year when the shop honors lifesaving blood donors.
Since 2003, Coleman has worked with the local Red Cross to host a Red Cross blood drive and offer a dozen roses to each presenting donor. Coleman’s son Sean received a transfusion at four months old following a heart transplant. The flower shop co-owner and blood drive coordinator schedules his blood drives around the anniversary of his son’s successful operation.
“I have a real compelling reason to hold this drive and many of the donors either know of Sean or heard about his story through the local media that usually covers the event,” said Coleman. “Our first drive had two buses out front and something like 90 people who signed up.”
As part of the blood drive planning efforts, Coleman has paper stuffers attached to flower orders to advertise the drive a month or two in advance. In addition to telling customers about the event, his son also takes blood drive posters to school where many teachers and faculty know the boy’s personal interest and involvement with the blood drives.
Last year, the Tucson-area flower shop added a little twist when Coleman gave donors the option of keeping the complimentary roses or passing them onto a local hospital and hospice. Don said he wasn’t surprised when nearly half of the blood donors decided to pay it forward and donate their flowers. “We helped out this smaller house [hospice] not too far from here and there were so many roses that I think everyone in the house received some flowers that day.”
If you have questions or need ideas on how to attract donors to your next blood drive, please contact your local Red Cross representative. Your representative can answer any questions you may have regarding incentives or giveaways at your blood drive.
