Blood Donations Needed and the Y Community Delivered

It was a full house (social distancing style) at the Elmhurst YMCA on Wednesday when the Y opened up temporarily for the morning to host a blood drive for the American Red Cross. Blood donations are currently in dire need across the country as many blood drives have been canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, pandemic or no pandemic, blood is still needed to save the lives of countless people who are sick with a range of illnesses.

Blood drives are currently only permitted to happen if social distancing practices are followed. And at our recent blood drive at Elmhurst Y, we made sure of that! Everyone who arrived – donors and staff alike – had their temperatures checked before entering the center. All donor stations were set-up at least six feet apart and volunteers and workers wore gloves and masks throughout.

We were fully booked for the entire five-hour event. Our American Red Cross partners described the drive as a huge success and said they were incredibly grateful to the Y for being there in times of extreme community need. Thank you to everyone who showed up to give blood and support your community. Due to the success of the Elmhurst YMCA event, we plan to host more blood drives for the American Red Cross so be sure to watch out for additional upcoming dates that we will post on our Facebook page.