Local Football Star Saquon Barkley Leads Blood Drive Efforts Amidst Winter Shortages
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is lending his voice to an American Red Cross blood drive initiative aimed at addressing a severe winter shortage of donations. As the NFL playoffs approach, which kick off with Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, Barkley has recorded a video message encouraging people to give.
Barkley had never donated blood before, until the Red Cross reached out to him. "It was a no-brainer for me to give again," he said in a statement. "It only takes about an hour and once you realize how much help it can bring – it's a beautiful thing."
As part of its partnership with the NFL, the American Red Cross is running blood drives across the country. To participate, donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 116 pounds, and be in good health. Donors who meet these criteria can typically donate blood every 56 days.
For those interested in giving back to their community during this time of need, the Red Cross is hosting drives throughout January. The organization hopes that by participating in these efforts, people will build a lifelong habit of donating blood.
One unique incentive offered for donating blood is entry into a contest to win tickets to Super Bowl LX, as well as a $1,000 gift card to cover expenses surrounding the game. However, time is running out – interested donors must sign up by January 25th to participate.
"We're on the cusp of a shortage and have seen more unfilled appointments and no-shows over the last month," said American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania. Nationally, the organization has reported a decline in blood donations of about 40% over the past two decades.
The partnership between the NFL and the Red Cross is one that dates back seven years, with retired quarterback Peyton Manning and wide receiver Jerry Rice serving as previous champions for blood donation awareness.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is lending his voice to an American Red Cross blood drive initiative aimed at addressing a severe winter shortage of donations. As the NFL playoffs approach, which kick off with Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, Barkley has recorded a video message encouraging people to give.
Barkley had never donated blood before, until the Red Cross reached out to him. "It was a no-brainer for me to give again," he said in a statement. "It only takes about an hour and once you realize how much help it can bring – it's a beautiful thing."
As part of its partnership with the NFL, the American Red Cross is running blood drives across the country. To participate, donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 116 pounds, and be in good health. Donors who meet these criteria can typically donate blood every 56 days.
For those interested in giving back to their community during this time of need, the Red Cross is hosting drives throughout January. The organization hopes that by participating in these efforts, people will build a lifelong habit of donating blood.
One unique incentive offered for donating blood is entry into a contest to win tickets to Super Bowl LX, as well as a $1,000 gift card to cover expenses surrounding the game. However, time is running out – interested donors must sign up by January 25th to participate.
"We're on the cusp of a shortage and have seen more unfilled appointments and no-shows over the last month," said American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania. Nationally, the organization has reported a decline in blood donations of about 40% over the past two decades.
The partnership between the NFL and the Red Cross is one that dates back seven years, with retired quarterback Peyton Manning and wide receiver Jerry Rice serving as previous champions for blood donation awareness.
i never thought id say this but 1 hour of ur time can really make a difference btw 40% decline in donations over 2 decades is wild they should def be incentivized more lol entry into super bowl lxi contest + $1000 gift card is a good start tho 
he never donated blood before until the red cross reached out to him but now he's all about it 
it only takes an hour and once you know how much of a difference it can make... its def a beautiful thing 
. Like, what's the worst that could happen? A little needle stick 
. I'm not saying I'll definitely be donating blood, but... actually, yeah, I totally am 
, 40% drop in donations over 20 yrs is crazy, think saquon's doing a great job promoting it btw 
, gotta make sure ppl know its not just about saving lives but also giving back to the community 
and im really hoping to win those tix my fave team is playing sunday so fingers crossed lol anyway, saquon barkley donating blood is kinda cool i never wouldve thought of it but if its only an hour he should def do it more often how about the nfl tho? cant they just donate or sumthing 
I remember when Peyton Manning was still playing, he was like a supermodel on field lol. Anyway, Saquon Barkley is really stepping up his game by promoting blood drives . it's awesome that the American Red Cross has been running these initiatives for years and now they're partnering with the NFL to get more people involved . donating blood every 56 days is pretty cool , I guess its not so bad when you think about all the lives you can save. super bowl LX tickets would be lit tho, 1k gift card too 
it's awesome to see athletes like him using their platform for good