Hosting a blood drive is an enriching and great way to show your support for your community, create a team-focused activity, and help patients in our state who need blood. BloodCenter of Wisconsin wants to help you boost participation and awareness for your blood drive to make it successful and rewarding.
If you and your organization have never sponsored a blood drive, consider that patients in local hospitals use about 800 units of blood every day, and that these patients rely heavily on the participation and leadership of sponsors in our community. About half of that amount is collected at our 12 donor centers, but the other half must be collected through local drives organized by:
- Businesses
- High schools and colleges
- Community and civic organizations
- Faith-based organizations
Depending on space and other considerations, you can host a blood drive either at your organization’s site or on our Bloodmobile Bus. When thinking about hosting a blood drive, you may have questions about planning. Of course, the more time you give yourself the better, but see the blood drive planning timeline checklist for a list of what you can do to ensure a successful drive.
Organizing a blood drive is easy. Your BloodCenter of Wisconsin representative can walk you through the process. If you are interested in learning more, call 1-877-BE-A-HERO (1-877-232-4376) or fill out the blood drive interest form.
What types of organizations hold blood drives?Many different types of organizations have banded together to host successful BloodCenter of Wisconsin blood drives. Wouldn’t you like to join them and help patients in your community? To find out more about having your business or community organization host a blood drive, call 1-877-BE-A-HERO (1-877-232-4376) or complete and submit a blood drive interest form. More information is also available in our Host a Blood Drive FAQs.
Business-sponsored blood drives
More than half of BloodCenter’s mobile blood drives are hosted by businesses. As a business leader, you can showcase your company’s commitment to the community by hosting a blood drive and encouraging blood donation among your employees. The blood collected will go to help neighbors, friends, maybe even co-workers because BloodCenter supplies 100% of the blood to more than 50 community hospitals.
Many businesses in Wisconsin hold regular blood drives. These drives range from a commitment of 20 donors to 200+ donors. They can be held on-site at your place of business, or on our Bloodmobile Bus which can accommodate up to 50 donors over a 5-hour period.
School-sponsored blood drives
High schools and colleges all over Wisconsin host regular blood drives and represent a significant portion of all mobile blood drives. Young adults represent the future of blood donation. Hosting a drive at your high school or college can help to shape a new generation, and create lots of fun as well! Encouraging blood donation saves lives and can develop leadership skills among the students coordinating the drive. BloodCenter staff will help walk you through the process of setting up a successful drive. High schools are also invited to participate in our Ultimate Share honor cord program and scholarship.
To learn more about how we support and encourage students to become involved in BloodCenter’s mission through blood drives and activities, go to our For Students section. You'll find additional information about our Ultimate Share Program that is designed to recognize students, faculty and staff for their support of BloodCenter.
BloodCenter of Wisconsin works closely with many community and civic groups to organize blood drives. Donors are more likely to donate blood when they feel comfortable and are with people they already know. Community drives can also provide a very powerful and rewarding experience for participants. Many different types of community-sponsored groups have banded together to host successful blood drives including:- Community or citywide drives
- Drives hosted by civic organizations, such as Lions or Elks clubs
- Faith-based organizations that encourage members to help save lives
- Moms’ groups or other special interest groups that host a drive to honor or commemorate an individual
- Secure date and time of your drive.
- Select an appropriate site and confirm the choice of facilities with your BloodCenter representative.
- Confirm your blood drive donor goal with your representative as well.
- Meet with your BloodCenter representative to discuss committee development, drive ideas, and select promotional materials.
- Set up your committee and determine how many volunteers will join you.
- Meet with your organization's leadership to get their support and plan how to show their involvement.
- Meet, educate and motivate your committee members.
- Determine a recruitment and communications plan. Your BloodCenter representative can assist you with this.
- Begin using BloodCenter materials and create communications: e-mails, patient stories, press releases which can be found at our Tools for Drive Coordinators.
- Start asking people for their commitment to donate and schedule appointments.
- Hold weekly committee check-in meetings.
- Check into the online schedule provided to you by your BloodCenter representative
- Use your promotional tools: e-mails, table tents, posters, etc.
- Share inspirational DVD provided by BloodCenter representative.
- Check-in with your BloodCenter representative and update him/her on how the drive appointments are going, and if there is anything else you need to ensure a successful drive.
- Reconfirm any logistics and remind and thank donors personally.
6. Day of your blood drive
- Have tables and chairs ready and the rest of the room cleared.
- Have the temperature set to 70 degrees or slightly lower.
- Meet with the BloodCenter charge person at the start of the drive to confirm everything is ready to go.
- Contact any donors who are 15 minutes late for their appointment.
7. After your blood drive
- Send thank you notes to donors, organization leadership and your committee.
- Include drive totals in your correspondence and encourage donors to continue donating at BloodCenter donation centers or at another upcoming mobile drive. They can call 1-877 BE A HERO for locations and appointment times.
- Hold a team meeting to solicit feedback on the event.
- Share your organization’s results with the rest of the organization. It’s a time to celebrate! Review drive results with your BloodCenter representative and set a date for your next successful drive.
Fill out our blood drive interest form to get startedHosting a blood drive has great benefits — not only for patients in our community — but for your organization as well. By hosting a blood drive, you will be helping accident and burn victims, surgery patients, leukemia patients, premature babies, and many others.
Blood really is the gift of life. To be contacted by a BloodCenter of Wisconsin staff member and learn more, please call 1-877-BE-A-HERO (1-877-232-4376), or fill out the online form.
Useful tools for blood drive coordinatorsThank you for contributing the time and effort to host a blood drive with BloodCenter of Wisconsin. Participating with us means that your organization provides tremendous benefits to people who need blood, including accident victims, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, premature babies, patients undergoing surgery and many others in need of blood transfusions.
These tools are available to help you prepare for your blood drive and ensure a successful event:
Advertising templates to use to promote your drive:
Hosting a blood drive FAQsWhy should my organization host a blood drive?
Hosting a blood drive has several direct benefits:
What are the steps in hosting a blood drive?
Our blood drive planning timeline checklist offers a checklist of what you should do and when, but here’s an overview to ensure that your blood drive will go as smoothly as possible:
How many donors do I need to have a blood drive?
A minimum of 20 donors is needed to host a blood drive. Our largest drives host over 200 donors. Most smaller drives are held over a 4-hour period; larger drives can stretch over a longer time.
Do I need to have the drive at my organization’s offices? We don’t have the space.
BloodCenter of Wisconsin’s Bloodmobile Bus is often used by organizations. The Bus can accommodate up to 50 donors over a 5-hour period. It requires sufficient parking space and access to restrooms. BloodCenter staff can discuss this option in more detail with you.
How far in advance should I schedule a blood drive?
Ideally, planning 8 to 12 weeks before the actual date works best. This gives you time to organize and recruit, helping to ensure a successful drive. Smaller windows of time can be accommodated. Again, this is something you can discuss with our BloodCenter staff.
What’s the most important thing in ensuring a successful drive?
Getting donors committed to giving is absolutely critical. Studies have shown that the main reason people haven’t donated blood is that no one asked them. Forming a committee and personally asking people — even signing them up for donation times — is the best way to ensure that you’ll achieve your goal. If there is someone from the organization with a personal story about needing blood, ask if they are willing to share their story. Real stories can create a personal connection and provide further motivation for blood donation.
How much time should donors set aside to donate blood?
It takes about 60 minutes from registration to refreshments in the café. The actual blood donation time is approximately 10 minutes.
Thank You to Our Summer Blood Drive SponsorsBloodCenter of Wisconsin thanks the following groups for sponsoring blood drives in the month of May and donating the gift of life. These community partners make it possible for BloodCenter of Wisconsin to provide life-giving blood products and services to local hospitals throughout Wisconsin.
| New Sponsors | ||
| La Crosse County University Of La Crosse - NRHH | Milwaukee County Irving Elementary SchoolProgressive Baptist Church Saint Anthony High School | Waukesha County Brooklife Church |
| Manitowoc County Manitowoc Police Department | Racine County Founders RotaryGiesi Elementary | |
| Returning Sponsors | ||
| Adams County
Adams/Friendship Community Clark County Colby Community Drive Grassland Dairy Dodge County John Deere Horicon Works Relay For Life-Beaver Dam Fond du Lac County Dodge Correctional Institution First Presbyterian Church Fond du Lac Fond du Lac Fire Department Horace Mann High School Jackson County Ho-Chunk Gaming Black River Falls Jefferson County Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Cygnus Business Media Eaton Electrical Palmyra-Eagle High School Standard Process Inc. Tyson Foods, Inc. Watertown Firefighters - Local 877 Juneau County Mile Bluff Medical Center Necedah High School New Lisbon Correctional Institution Kenosha County Carthage College Dr. James Fulmer - DDS Lakeview Tech Academy Snap-On, Inc St. Anne Catholic Church St. Paul’s Lutheran Church La Crosse County BMO Harris Bank Christ Episcopal Church Globe University Gundersen Lutheran - Onalaska Clinic La Crosse Government Employees La Crosse Public Library Mary Mother of The Church Parish Mayo Clinic Franciscan Healthcare St. James The Less Catholic Church Manitowoc County Faith Lutheran Church Holy Family Memorial Medical Center Lincoln High School Manitowoc Community Marathon County Graebel Companies Marathon City High School Northcentral Technical College Spencer High School Milwaukee County American Society For Quality Archer Daniels Midland - Cocoa Division AT&T - Broadway ATI-Ladish Forging Aurora Sinai Medical Center Aurora St Luke's South Shore Hospital Aurora West Allis Medical Center Badger Mutual Insurance Bay View High School Bon Ton Inc (Boston Store) Brown Deer Business Park C & H Distributors, Inc Caterpillar Global Mining Children's Hospital Of Wisconsin CHR Hansen, Inc. Community Care Milwaukee Donate 4 Research Extendicare Forrer Business Interiors Froedtert Hospital GE Healthcare Great-West Greendale High School Hamilton High School | Milwaukee County (con't) James E Dottke High School Johnson Controls Lions Club of Wauwatosa Manpower Group Marquette Evans Scholars MATC Mayfair Woods Messmer High School Milwaukee Athletic Club Milwaukee County Clerk Of Courts - Jury Service Div. Milwaukee Police & Fire Associations Milwaukee School Of Engineering Mount Hope Lutheran Church Nicolet High School Northwestern Mutual Quad/Graphics -West Allis Rexnord Corp-Berg & Stearns Division South Division High School South Milwaukee Lions Club South Milwaukee Sr High School St. Eugene Congregation St. Jude Parish The Wisconsin Heart Hospital Unico at The Italian Community Center United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay UnitedHealth Group US Bank UW-Milwaukee Wauwatosa Police Department Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Whitefish Bay Women's Club Wisconsin Lutheran High School Monroe County Cashton Community Blood Drive Mathews, Inc. Tomah High School Tomah Memorial Hospital Trinity Lutheran Church Ozaukee County Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church Concordia University Grafton High School HB Performance Systems Ozaukee High School Rockwell Automation Portage County Saint Michael's Hospital Travel Guard Price County Flambeau Hospital Flambeau River Papers Racine County All Saints Health Care – St. Luke's BRP US Inc. Burlington Community Catholic Central High School J I Case High School Johnson Financial Group Lavelle Industries Lynch Chevrolet Putzmeister Racine Harley Racine Youth Correctional Facility Runzheimer International St. Mesrob Armenian Church St. Rita's Catholic Church St. Thomas Aquinas Union Grove Community William Horlick High School Wind Lake Community Richland County Richland Hospital, Inc. Sheboygan County Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church Curt G. Joa, Inc. Plymouth Community Plymouth High School Random Lake High School Rockline Industries Sheboygan County Christian High School Sigma-Aldrich Corporation | Trempealeau County Arcadia Community Eleva Lutheran Church Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School Tri-County Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home Vernon County Vernon Memorial Healthcare Walworth County Aurora Health Center Elkhorn Martial Arts Center MPC Pentair, Inc. St. Paul Lutheran Church Universal Electronics, Inc. Washington County Allenton Lions Club Faustel, Inc Germantown Community Hartford Community Hartford Union High School Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church Richfield Elementary School Serigraph Inc St. Josephs Hospital Waukesha County All Saints Lutheran Ascension Lutheran Church Bader, Rutter & Associates Inc Blessed Savior Lutheran Church Brookfield Academy High School Christ The Servant Lutheran Church Cooper Power Systems Cross of Life Lutheran Church Danisco/Marek Group DDN Dematic Dixon Elementary Dousman Community Elm Grove Lutheran Church First Baptist Church of Merton Flight For Life Froedtert Health at Woodland Prime GE Healthcare Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Holy Apostles IEWC International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Kohls M&I Bank Menomonee Falls Community Menomonee Falls High School Muskego Community North Shore Bank North Shore Middle School Oconomowoc High School Poplar Creek Church Queen of Apostles Catholic Parish Riverglen Christian Church Sentry Equipment Corporation Sharp Packaging Systems Shorewest Realtors St. Agnes Parish St. Jerome Catholic Church St. Marks Lutheran Church St. Mary and St Anthony School and Parishes Sussex Community US Bank Virginia Health & Rehab Wales Community Waukesha North High School Wisconsin Athletic Club Wisconsin Harley- Davidson Zach & Sam's Community Blood Drive Wood County Marshfield Clinic North Ridge Church Marshfield Renaissance Learning Inc. Saint Joseph's Hospital |
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