There are no blood donor clinics on the Sunshine Coast, so Patricia Hetherington and Sharon Petzold are taking Coasters to Vancouver to give.
The women are organizing a caravan to transport interested blood donors to West Vancouver on Sept. 18 and they’re looking for people to take part.
The Gleneagles community centre is hosting a one-year blood donor clinic trial in West Van, which is much closer than the Lonsdale clinic Hetherington has been donating at for the past 20 years.
“Basically if we don’t use it we lose it, so we’ve got to show that it’s needed,” she said, noting that’s one reason she wanted to get the caravan together.
She also wanted to make it easier for Coasters to donate blood and saw a group booking and shared travel as a fun way to make that happen.
She’s made an appointment at the Gleneagles clinic for 10 people, but could expand that booking to accommodate 20 blood donors on Sept. 18.
Participants would catch the 10:50 a.m. ferry out of Langdale as walk-ons and be picked up in Horseshoe Bay by a driver Hetherington is arranging. The group will likely catch the 4:30 p.m. ferry home.
“We’ll drive to give blood, we’ll have some fun, we’ll feel good and then someone on the other end will drive us back to the ferry,” Hetherington said.
She’s been giving blood for a long time and hopes others will do the same because, as the slogan says, “it’s in you to give.”
“I feel really strongly about it and it’s something that we can all do. It’s always needed,” she said. “Every kind of blood is essential.”
She believes there are Coasters who are willing to give blood, but that the expense and travel needed to give has stopped many.
She hopes the caravan will make a difference and more caravans may be planned if there’s enough interest.
To find out more or get involved, contact Hetherington at 604-886-9599 or Petzold at 604-740-6051. Emails can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected]
