MURFREESBORO — If you’re proud to bleed “True
Blue,” get ready to roll up your sleeves Oct. 21-23 and save lives at MTSU’s
True Blue Blood Drive.
True Blue supporters across the Midstate can make an appointment now at www.redcrossblood.org to donate in the
three-day drive at MTSU’s Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center.
Appointments are open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct.
22, and Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The blood drive, now in its fourth year, has traditionally been a
competition between MTSU and former Sun Belt Conference rival Western Kentucky
University linked to their annual football matchup.
The Blue Raiders aren’t facing the Hilltoppers this fall because of
MTSU’s switch to Conference USA, but MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said the
need for blood remains urgent.
“Part of the True Blue spirit is being a giver, and what better way to do
so than giving the gift of life by being a blood donor?" McPhee said.
"I encourage the Blue Raider community and the wider community to respond
like we always have in the past in supporting such a worthy cause."
“The
need for blood won’t wait until next year when we play Western again in
Conference USA. That need is here every day,” added Chris Massaro, director of MTSU
athletics. “We want to see the same people — and more — who’d donate if we were
in a competition. It is a competition: to save lives.”
James Lee, president of MTSU’s Student Government Association, a
co-sponsor of the True Blue Blood Drive with MTSU Athletics, said the “Bleed
Blue” drive has become a community tradition, drawing alumni and community supporters
from around the Midstate as well as across campus.
“Around this time of year, people recognize that MTSU has a big blood
drive, regardless of any competition, and they get ready to donate,” Lee said.
“The people who donate know they’re not just reaching people in Middle
Tennessee but all over the world.
“They’re making such a generous donation, something that is literally a
part of them, to save lives.”
MTSU donors can visit www.redcrossblood.org, click the blue
"Enter a Sponsor Code" box on the left side of the page, then enter
"MTSU19" to make an appointment.
The Rec Center is
located on Blue Raider Drive on the east side of the MTSU campus. A campus map
with parking notes is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap13-14.
Blood donors also will have access to reserved parking at the
Rec Center during the drive.
Walk-in donors will be welcome, but organizers
are encouraging donors to make appointments early to get convenient times and
speedier processing on donation day.
“Some people are afraid of
needles, and being a donor myself, I understand that it’s an intense
experience,” Lee added, “but it’s also a very rewarding one. They (Red Cross
personnel) are great, and people really respect blood donors. I encourage
everyone, on- and off-campus, to come out and help.”
For updates and more information about the blood
drive, visit www.mtsunews.com/bleed-blue-2013
and follow @MTSUNews on Twitter.
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