MONTANA – The impact of Hurricane Helene hit the American Red Cross’s blood donation supply. Ahead of the pending Hurricane Milton, the Red Cross is upping the incentives for people outside of the affected areas to give blood.
“Since making landfall, the storm and its aftermath have led to the cancellation of more than 100 blood drives, causing thousands of blood and platelet donations to go uncollected,” the Red Cross said in a release.
While donors used to receive a T-shirt as a token for their donation, the organization added extra encouragement for people outside of the hurricanes’ paths to give. Now, people who give blood in the month of October will receive a $10 Amazon gift card via email, the Red Cross said. On top of that, donors will be entered for a chance to win one of three $5,000 gift cards.
Donors have plenty of opportunity to give as Montana is hosting several blood drives in the coming weeks:
Great Falls
October 16 at 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Great Falls Clinic, 1400 29th St. S.
October 16 at 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Riverview Elementary, 100 Smelter Ave.
Lewistown
October 8 at 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., First Christian Church of Lewistown, 103 12th Ave. S.
October 9 at 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Central Montana Medical Center, 408 Wendell Ave.
Fort Benton
October 31 at 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., The Montana Agricultural Center, 1205 20th St.
Sunburst
October 15 at 12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Methodist Church, 17 2nd Ave. W.
A full list of drives can be found online at the American Red Cross.
