The Roanoke Rapids fire and police departments are out for blood in a fight for bragging rights and to replenish supplies.
That’s why on October 1 the two departments will fight it out in an American Red Cross blood drive at Kirkwood Adams Community Center from noon until the last person gives.
To make it interesting, donors can request red chips for the fire department or blue chips for the police department. Whichever department collects the most chips will be declared the winner and the loser will have to perform a task for the winner — the police department washing two fire trucks or the fire department washing six police vehicles.
Police Chief Shane Guyant said the idea began when he and fire Chief Jason Patrick were approached by the Red Cross about doing a Battle of the Badges drive where the departments go against each other. “It’s a drive to increase attendance at a blood drive,” Guyant said. “I don’t even think we blinked twice. We said, ‘yeah, we’ll do it, daggone right.’”
(In addition to the chance to vote, donors will get a free T-shirt as well as gift bags. A second blood drive will be held the following day at The Vault, which is located at 265 Roanoke Avenue. That drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but registration is recommended by using the QR code in the gallery)
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They were invited to go to one in New Bern. “There was a little bit different because they had a new fire chief and a new police chief. They weren’t trying to do a battle, but kind of a unifying thing. They had a lot of people show up for their blood drive. We both gave blood and experienced it for ourselves.”
On average, Guyant said, when there is a blood drive locally, there are about 60 people who give blood. “If you look at the news, you’ll find that blood donations are down. Over the summer they’re down by 25 percent versus last year, the reason being because of the heat and people traveling on vacation.”
The police chief said, however, “We know how big this community is in giving. It’s a very benevolent community.”
He said the objective is not money. “We’re not asking anything but their time and their blood. What we’d like is on October the first when the next scheduled blood drive is going to occur, we’re going to do that battle of the badges.”
Guyant said he and Patrick figured if they talk enough smack and they get the community excited about it, that they could get at least double the average attendance of 60.
“I think it’s working,” Patrick said. “I noticed, like on our Facebook page, more people are following us now than they have before.”
Getting 120 people to donate blood would be a win for the city and people who need blood, Guyant said. One pint of blood, he said, can affect the lives of three people. “Not everyone's blood can be used for blood donations but they can be used for platelets and plasma, but people who are O-negative and positive, they’re the ones who’ve got the good stuff, they’re the ones that really need to give.”
After the competition is over, Guyant said the departments want to get together for a joint picnic. “With all the poking fun, we’re trying to bring our two departments closer together because we do work closely together. We really want the community to step up and give blood to save lives.”
Patrick said the community is already feeding off the friendly competition but, he said, “At the end of the day, when everything is done, who is the real winner? The winners are the people that need the blood. At the end of the day it’s not going to be about the fire or police, it’s about those people who need that blood. If we are able to get that many more donors you’re helping that many more people.”
Patrick said if you use the three to one ratio, with 60 average donors, those who donate are helping 180 people, but with 120 people donating that means 360 people who are helped.
“At the end of the day, if we just have 60 people show up for the blood drive, we haven’t really accomplished anything,” Guyant said. “We need 120 or more to show up. We’re trying to get the community to realize this is their opportunity to step up and donate blood and save a life and have fun in the same process.”
