Last Sunday blood donor Manolita Gude enjoyed a getaway to Miami where she watched the Kansas City Chiefs rally against the San Francisco 49ers in a fourth quarter surge to win Super Bowl LIV. Although she’s been to NFL games before, she’s never had the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. And she had no clue that her desire to give back would allow her to win tickets to the big game.
“It is a lifetime experience that I would not have enjoyed but for the generosity of the American Red Cross,” says Manolita.
To help tackle the critical need for blood, we teamed up with the NFL to offer anyone who presented to donate blood from Jan. 1-19, the chance to win two tickets to Super Bowl LIV, entry to the official NFL Tailgate, tickets to the Super Bowl Experience at the Miami Beach Convention Center, round-trip airfare to Miami, three-night hotel accommodations at The Alexander® – All Suite Oceanfront Resort (Jan. 31 to Feb. 3), and a $500 gift card for expenses. We’d like to extend a big thank you to all the donors like Manolita who came to give.
Before moving to Connecticut less than two years ago, Manolita was a long-time blood donor. To get back on track with donating blood regularly, she downloaded the Red Cross Blood Donor App on her phone and found a blood drive near her area. Moving forward, she doesn’t plan to take another hiatus from giving blood because she knows just how much patients in need rely on blood products. Patients like her father and brother.
Gude’s father relied on blood during his battle with lung cancer and more recently her brother received a number of plasma, platelet and whole blood transfusions to keep up his fight with liver disease.
“Donating blood is such a small, painless gesture that has such a big reward,” says Manolita. “I know it can truly make a difference for people who are ill.”
Give Back by Donating Blood
Like Manolita you can donate blood to make a difference.
“Your blood donation makes a difference in the wellness of patients,” says Manolita. Giving blood is painless, quick and the American Red Cross staff are wonderful, kind and understanding. And you get to eat cookies when you are done!”
Schedule your donation appointment today by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the blood donor skill on any Alexa Echo device by saying, “Alexa, find a blood drive.” To make the donation process even easier, you can also complete a RapidPass® online health history questionnaire at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass on mobile devices.