‘Blood Ties’ blood drive to be held on 12 & 13 July, aims to raise 300 units of blood
In a bid to encourage blood donations amongst the youth, the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) will be organising ‘Blood Ties’ – the latest blood donation drive that seeks to recruit more youth donors. The 2-day event will be held at *Scape on 12 and 13 July 2014 and aims to collect at least 300 units of blood.
The blood advocacy campaign profiles youth as catalysts of positive change, leveraging their ‘ties’ to inspire their circle of influence to donate blood. It hinges on a concept that is relatable to the youth community. Drawing on the ‘selfie’ trend, ‘Blood Ties’ encourages the youth community to be part of the movement by declaring their passion – be it blogging, music, photography, acting, football or stand-up comedy – through a ‘selfie’. They will then upload these ‘selfies’ onto their respective social media channels, with the following hashtags: #bloodties #(state your passion here)inmyblood #sgredcross #ydcsg, as well as the details of the event to encourage their friends and followers to be part of the cause and save lives by donating their blood at ‘Blood Ties’.
“Singapore is faced with an ageing population and an increase demand of blood. We need to attract more young donors to give regularly so as to maintain a sustainable blood supply. Today, youth blood donors make up 31 per cent – a significant part of the donor population. We aim to increase that to 35 per cent. ‘Blood Ties’ is a great event that leverages a concept that the youth can relate to – which is about sharing and allowing others to live their passion,” said Mr Benjamin William, Secretary General/CEO of the Singapore Red Cross.
‘Blood Ties’ blood donation drive is a by-youth, for-youths initiative. It is organised by the Youth Donor Club and the campaign sees the involvement of local celebrities and influencers including musicians The Sam Willows, AJ’s and Nathan Hartono, entertainers Fadlur Rahman, Divian Nair and Dee Kosh, comedian Rishi Budhrani, bloggers Peggy Chang, Victoria Cheng and Silver Ang – some of whom will be donating their blood at ‘Blood Ties’.
“As a blood donor myself, I am constantly encouraging others to do their part to save lives by donating their blood,” said Ms Silver Ang, 29, blogger. “‘Blood Ties’ is an interesting campaign where we can use our passion to do a worthy cause. By being a part of this campaign, I hope to create more awareness about blood donation and hopefully, more youth will step forward to be blood donors,” she continued.
Through this campaign, the Youth Donor Club, comprising youth blood donors who share a common cause, aims to educate youth on the importance of blood donation and inspire more to step up to embrace blood donation as an integral part of their lives.
Ms Goh Min Hui, President of the Youth Donor Club, enthused, “Each unique individual albeit different passion and lifestyle is bonded by blood. As much as we want to achieve the goal of collecting 300 units of blood, it will be much more meaningful if every donor and volunteer involved can become advocates for blood donation, adopt it as a lifestyle and spread the cause to their family and friends.”
‘Blood Ties’ will be happening on:
Date: 12 and 13 July 2014
Time: Registration starts from 11am-5pm
Venue: *Scape, The Gallery (Level 5), 2 Orchard Link, Singapore 237978
To view the campaign video, please visit the following link:
www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=826105527402359&set=vb.142774729068779&type=2&theater
To be part of ‘Blood Ties’, please visit the following link: