I set out today to do participate in the blood drive at Bay St. Louis. It was a gorgeous blue sky day with just enough chill that you need a light jacket if you are going to be near the water. Driving from Long Beach, I marveled at the awesome changes that have taken place along HWY 90 during 2008. One of the greatest accomplishments is that both bridges are open again linking Hwy 90 across Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties.

     Good news! I arrived at the Bay St. Louis blood drive close to the end of their allotted time. They were out of bags! I had to reschedule for the draw at Edgewater Mall tomorrow. However, I was able to talk with a couple of lively and dedicated Red Cross Volunteers. I am including a link to my original post regarding the request to donate blood as replacement for Jon Ross, A Mississippi REALTOR undergoing treatment for acute Leukemia.

You Can Make a Difference and it will only cost some time and a little Pain

  Service with a smile!

 This is one of the incentives. I noticed that some of the other blood drives offer other incentives such as cash drawings.

 This gentleman is an awesome and dedicated Red Cross Volunteer. He says he works approximtely 12 blood drives a month. Talk about Heros... He told me that they had surpassed their goal of 42 and were over 60 donations  for this drive. He was very proud of the fact for 12 months in a row this Red Cross Unit has surpassed all goals. That also says a lot about the citizens along the Gulf Coast!

 Donors waiting to give at. This photo was taken close to the end of the drive,  Hancock Medical Center, Bay St. Louis. I learned that donors can in fact specify replacement dedication for an individual but you do need an account# if asking for replacement through Red Cross. (Replacement Donation for Jon Ross doesn't work between Ochsner hospital. In this particualar circumstance Blood Centers affiliated with National Blood Exchange works reciprocally with Ochsner).

Going a step further--the Red Cross will even hold draws for a specific person.

I also learned that we can donate platelets more often than plasma.

Today, I will be going to Edgewater Mall to donate as they ran out of bags in Bay St. Louis. It is raining hard off and on. It will be interesting to see how many people make this one.

Bay St. Louis-Waveland currently has 199 homes listed on the MLS. Visit my website for MS Gulf Coast Real Estate information.