TEXAS, USA — The video above first aired in January 2021.
Carter BloodCare is joining with H-E-B for the 18th Annual "H-E-B Challenge" blood drives on June 25 and July 27 to help boost blood supply amid an ongoing shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the February winter storm.
The blood drives will be held in parking lot of the H-E-B at 1821 S. Valley Mills Drive on the Carter BloodCare bus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to Carter BloodCare, blood programs have suffered the worst blood shortage in decades and blood donors of all types are needed.
In 2020, during the pandemic, the H-E-B Challenge registered 650 donors and collected 571 pints of blood. The 2021 blood drive is hosted at Central Texas H-E-B locations for two weeks beginning Friday, June 18 and continues through Sunday, July 11.
H-E-B began its community partnership with Carter in 2002 with a large-scale, companywide, multi-location blood drive event. Since then, H-E-B has helped collect 7,348 pints of life-saving blood.
“More than 20 percent of Carter BloodCare’s annual collections come from high school blood drives. When school is out for the summer, the loss of those blood drives reflects heavily in the blood collections,” said Linda Goelzer, APR, director of public relations for Carter BloodCare. “During the 2020 school year, Carter BloodCare hosted limited high school blood drives because of COVID-19, so the H-E-B partnership is even more significant this year. When you donate blood at this Texas-based grocery company, you’re giving blood for fellow Texans.”
Employees at each participating H-E-B store challenge each other to encourage the most blood donors. The store with the highest ratio of blood donors to employees receives a traveling trophy. The store with the highest number of pints donated is also awarded a trophy.
Mexia H-E-B is the reigning 2020 champion for percentage of donor participation with 33%. Wooded Acres H-E-B in Waco repeated a win in 2020 for the highest number of donations collected – 51 pints.