Tag Archives: Elf

Gift giving made simple: donate blood this Holiday Season

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By Tim Poe, American Red Cross volunteer

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with information on current donor incentives

Blood. It’s red, deep red, like a worldview when tediousness and life drama build and become epic. It’s also lifegiving, sustaining, and needed. Most of us only feel we need such a boost on occasion, but others—including trauma, leukemia, and kidney disease patients, those experiencing childbirth emergencies, and more—truly need it to keep living, right away.

And you know what? You have blood! Lots of it! About 1.5 gallons, just waiting to help. Even a paper cut will remind you it’s there. Yet a lot of people will need blood today, tomorrow, and next week. On average, someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds. So, schedule a time to donate some. You’ll feel good about yourself, get a cookie and juice, bring much needed light to the world (metaphorically), and potentially save a life (literally).

Thanks to Prime Video and their new film Candy Cane Lane, those who come to give now through Dec. 31 will automatically be entered for a chance to win a $1,000 Amazon.com Gift Card and a 65-inch Omni QLED Series Amazon Fire TV. (Details at RedCrossBlood.org/Amazon). In thanks for giving, we’re also offering a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card by email for those who come to give Dec. 1-17, and a long-sleeved Red Cross T-shirt Dec. 18-Jan. 5, while supplies last.

Did you know we decorate with red during the giving season because donating blood is among the greatest gifts of all? Okay, I made that up, but I like it and am sticking with it.

However awesome you believe yourself to be, you can be even more so. Just with a little less blood for a very short time. Your body will quickly make more; and remember, you have around a gallon and a half of the stuff. They won’t take anywhere near that much. Promise.

To take part in this much needed awesomeness and giving spirit, visit redcrossblood.org or download the free app. Here are the season’s blood drives in our area, where you’ll be among other fantastic, giving people, like Eilene, Don, and Doug.

Holiday Blood Drive, Sheraton Suites Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, 2022

American Red Cross Northern Ohio 2023 Holiday Blood Drives

December 12, 2023
Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
1 Center Court
Cleveland, OH 44115
8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Make an appointment today!

December 15, 2023
Crocker Park
239 Market Street
Westlake, OH 44145
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Make an appointment today!

December 19, 2023
Sheraton Suites Akron/Cuyahoga Falls
1989 Front St.
Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221
7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Make an appointment today!

December 20, 2023
Hilton Garden Inn
8971 Wilcox Drive
Twinsburg, OH 44087
7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Make an appointment today!

December 21, 2023
Packard Music Hall
1703 Mahoning Ave.
Warren, OH 44483
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Make an appointment today!

December 21, 2023
WNWO Holiday Blood Drive
Hilton Garden Inn Perrysburg
6165 Levis Commons Blvd.
Perrysburg, OH 43551
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Make an appointment today!

December 22, 2023
Stambaugh Auditorium
1000 Fifth Ave.
Youngstown, OH 44504
Make an appointment today!

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross board member and volunteer

Give blood and celebrate the 20th Anniversary “Elf”

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By Christy Peters, Regional Communications Manager

For most of my life, I have been a holiday purist. My family always waited until after Thanksgiving before we did anything related to Christmas. No decorating the house or finding a tree until the last weekend in November. And, of course, only certain foods on certain holidays. Heaven forbid you have turkey on both holidays – turkey on Thanksgiving, ham on Christmas.

My strict expectations even extended into holiday entertainment. Only certain films were true holiday “classics.” For example, there are only two acceptable versions of “A Christmas Carol.” For the kids “A Muppet Christmas Carol” and only George C. Scott as Ebeneezer Scrooge for everyone else. And if you don’t watch “It’s A Wonderful Life,” can it even be Christmas? So, it probably comes as no surprise that when the movie “Elf” debuted, I didn’t see it. I was good with my classics, and it didn’t seem to fit that category at all.

But it seems I missed the memo because “Elf” is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and has rightly earned classic holiday movie status. As strongly as I feel about George C. Scott, there are probably many more people who see Buddy as the true hero of the holiday season. And for them, I have some fantastic news! When you come to give blood now through Nov. 30, you’ll receive an exclusive pair of “Elf” + American Red Cross socks, while supplies last.

Donations are critical to the blood supply as the holiday season draws near – a time when blood donations often decline. And for traditionalists like me, the Red Cross is encouraging people to add a new tradition as the holiday season begins: Spread cheer with a blood or platelet donation. Donors of all blood types are urged to give, especially type O blood donors and those giving platelets.

Before the holiday rush begins, take an hour out of your day to give blood or platelets and help someone in need. You can find a blood drive near you and make an appointment using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

And, in case you were wondering, at the insistence of my husband, I finally watched “Elf” a few years ago…and loved it. It’s now required viewing in our home every year. Even us traditionalists can shake it up every now and then.