KENOSHA, Wis. — The Kenosha Mayor’s Office will host a series of blood drives beginning Aug. 27 as part of the Abbott/Big Ten “We Give Blood” competition, a multi-month campaign aimed at boosting donations amid a national shortage. The Big Ten school with the most donations logged between Aug. 27 and Dec. 5 will receive \$1 million from Abbott for community or student health initiatives.
The first local drive is scheduled for Aug. 27 at the Kenosha Museum and is expected to include Mayor David Bogdala and other city leaders. Donors who show up and log their gift toward the competition will receive a limited-edition Wisconsin T-shirt—or one from another Big Ten school—while supplies last. Additional Kenosha dates are planned throughout the campaign.
Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin will facilitate the drives. Donors must present a photo ID, weigh at least 110 pounds and must not have donated within the past 56 days. City officials framed the effort as a way to channel team loyalty into lifesaving action after younger-donor participation declined sharply in recent years.
Kenosha Fire Department officials emphasized the local impact: the department is the first fire-based EMS service in Wisconsin to carry blood on all front-line ambulances, allowing paramedics to start transfusions at emergency scenes. That means blood donated here can be used in Kenosha within minutes for trauma, childbirth complications, cancer treatments and other medical needs. One donation can help up to three patients.
To count a donation for UW–Madison or another Big Ten school, eligible donors can give at any blood center nationwide during the competition window and log it by texting “DONATE” to ABBOTT (222688) or by submitting through the campaign website. Totals will be tracked throughout the drive, with the winner announced Dec. 6 at the Big Ten Championship Game.
Mayor Bogdala called blood donations “a critical part of care in our communities,” adding confidence that Kenosha residents will step up—and have a little fun supporting their team in the process.
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2 Responses
All that tainted, fake vaccinated blood. No thanks.
Donors are not asked if they received Covid 19 vax. We now suspect blood carries spike proteins.