Jacksonville, FL (June 25, 2019) – Councilman Becton and LifeSouth Community Blood Center hosted a second District 11 Blood Drive. Unlike the first donation, which took place out in the district with Life South’s bloodmobile, Councilman Becton hosted the recent blood drive at City Hall. The event took place on June 25th from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Don Davis room and led up to the last City Council meeting for the 2015-2019 term that evening.
Councilman Becton and District 11 Executive Council Assistant, Tiziana Onstead kicked off the blood drive by donating the first two pints of blood. By the end of the blood drive, LifeSouth received 13 donations, which will be used at local hospitals to help save 39 local lives.
“I want to say Thank You to everyone in City Hall that participated and donated blood”, CM Becton Stated. “Your donation is extremely valuable and as representatives of our city and leaders within our communities, setting an example is important in that we can bring awareness of this need”. CM Becton added.
The idea of hosting a blood drive came to Councilman Becton after he donated blood for his first time back in July at the Grand Opening of LifeSouth’ s new blood center in Deerwood Center off Baymeadows Way. During an interview with Channel 4 New4Jax, Councilman Becton discussed how easy it is to donate and how he wants to help donate more regularly and to work with LifeSouth on future community blood drives.
“For all those residents like me, who have never donated blood, the process is too easy,” Councilman Becton stated. “These professionals here at LifeSouth make it welcoming, painless and safe, so that if you are apprehensive about doing something like this, believe me don’t be, I am sharing with you how easy it is to help save a life and directly benefit your community.”
LifeSouth hosts nearly 2,000 blood drives a month, according to its website. The non-profit community blood bank “serves more than 100 hospitals in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, with more than 30 donor centers and 45 blood mobiles.”
In order to give blood, you must be in good health, 17 years or older (or 16 with parental permission), weigh at least 100 pounds and show a valid photo I.D.
Councilman Becton plans to continue working with LifeSouth and host more District 11 Blood Drives in the future.
To learn more about LifeSouth, Visit:
