LifeStream Blood Bank’s 11th annual ‘9 Cities Challenge’ officially began Saturday, July 1, and runs until Thursday, Aug. 31. The nine participating cities for the friendly competition to see which city can generate the most blood donations are: Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Coachella, Indian Wells, and Cathedral City.
“The 9 Cities Challenge is one of our favorite events of the year,” said Dr. Rick Axelrod, LifeStream president/CEO & medical director. “Blood donors come out to support their cities and local patients in need. Every year, it’s a showcase of dedication to the health of our community and great fun for everyone involved. Summer is always one of the hardest seasons for blood collection, so we hope to hit our 1,500-pint collection goal this year. Every blood donation makes an impact. Just one pint can save three lives. If we hit our collection goal, not only will it be a record-breaking number for the 9 Cities Challenge, but 1,500 pints will save over 4,500 lives.”
This year, every donor will receive an exclusive 9 Cities Challenge bucket hat, while supplies last. The overall winner of the competition will be the city with the most pints collected from July 1 to Aug. 31. There are several blood drive events happening here in Cathedral City (listed below). To schedule an appointment, view the participating drives, a live ranking board, and bucket hat design, visit www.lstream.org/9cities.
Cathedral City’s Dates, Locations, and Times:
- Monday, August 6, Stater Bros, 69255 Ramon Rd, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
- Thursday, August 10, City of Cathedral City, 68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero, 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
- Wednesday, August 26, Cathedral City Branch Library, 33520 Date Palm Dr, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
LifeStream is a nonprofit, local, comprehensive blood bank that provides blood products and services to more than 80 Southern California hospitals. For more information, please call 800-879-4484 or visit LStream.org.