Blood drive exceeds donation goal

When James River Good Works Group volunteers sat down with American Red Cross staffers to plan the first Scottsville Blood Drive in several years, a goal was set to collect 25 pints of blood. By the end of the May 11 Drive held at the Scottsville United Methodist Fellowship Hall, a total of 28 collected pints had exceeded that benchmark and set the stage for a repeat effort now scheduled for May 10, 2025.

To give the Drive the best possible chance to succeed, a total of six James River Good Works volunteers worked for two months posting flyers, setting out counter cards at local businesses, doing print and social media publicity, making presentations at local group meetings, and staffing a donor recruiting table at the Scottsville Farmers Market for the five Saturdays prior to the May 11 Drive date. The extensive effort motivated 49 people to sign up to donate blood.

But, as had been anticipated in the planning, not all 49 ended up becoming blood donors. Last minute work or family obligations led to nine appointment cancellations. Blood chem prescreen issues kept six show-ups from donating. And another six signups ended up as no-shows. But enough generous people were able to follow through to make the 2024 Scottsville Blood Drive a goal-beating success.

As a show of appreciation for donor community spirit, seven Scottsville area merchants were coordinated by James River Good Works Group to provide special thank-you coupons to everyone that showed up for their donation appointment. The coupons were good for a mega dessert cupcake (Baked on the James), an 8-ounce water Keifer soda (Farmstead Ferments), and twenty percent off a one-time total purchase (Evolve Hair Design, Kathy Marrs Pet Grooming, Polish Nails Salon, Riverbend Boutique, and Two Labs Coffee). In addition, donors will also be receiving directly from the American Red Cross a free haircut voucher and a $10 gift card.

The 2024 Scottsville Blood Drive was a joint project of the American Red Cross (operations), James River Good Works Group (organization) and SUMC Methodist Men (venue facilitation). To learn about the 2025 Scottsville Blood Drive or another of the Group’s current projects, please visit james-river-good-works-group.square.site or facebook.com/jrgoodworks.