SEWELL, N.J.— Washington Township Mayor Joann Gattinelli has re-issued a challenge to the township’s Police and Fire departments to see who can recruit the most eligible blood donors in the community during a rematch of their American Red Cross Battle of the Badges blood drive competition on Tuesday, May 7.
Last year’s drive collected 167 pints of blood, ranking it the second-largest Battle of the Badges blood drive in the country behind only Philadelphia. The Police department narrowly defeated the Fire department by recruiting the most donors; however, the real winners were the approximately 500 patients who benefitted from the blood collected.
Community members are needed to roll up their sleeves and donate blood with “team police” or “team fire” on May 7 between 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mayor Gattinelli will host the drive at the Washington Township Municipal Building, 523 Egg Harbor Road in Sewell, New Jersey. Free parking is available.
All presenting donors will receive a free T-shirt, while supplies last. Appointments are strongly encouraged. To schedule an appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter sponsor code Washington Township BOB or call 1-800-REDCROSS.
Battle of the Badges is a friendly competition that helps the Red Cross meet patient and hospital demand for blood, which is especially critical leading into summer – a challenging time for blood collection.
All first-responder agencies that host Battle of Badges blood drives with the Red Cross will compete to earn a spot on the nationwide leaderboard and could be crowned the winner of the best Battle of the Badges drive across the nation.