Wilmette Parish, Fire Department Set Emergency Blood Drive Amid Red Cross Shortage

WILMETTE, IL — Wilmette residents will have a chance Sunday to donate blood at an emergency drive co-sponsored by the Wilmette Fire Department and Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish.

The drive is scheduled for Aug. 30 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. Francis Xavier Campus school gym, 524 Ninth St.

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The event comes as the American Red Cross declared its second-ever national blood supply crisis at the end of July after blood donations fell to a four-year summer low.

All pre-registered appointment slots for the Wilmette drive have been filled, but the event can accommodate up to 30 walk-in donors Sunday, officials said.

Organizers are also offering several donor incentives. Every donor will receive a $20 Amazon card, a pint of Culver's frozen custard, a chance to spin to win on the Ballyhoo Wheel of Fortune, and an entry into a Wilmette Fire Department raffle. The raffle winner will receive a ride for two to school on a fire truck. A tailgate party with a free hot dog for every donor is also planned.

Donors can also bring personal care items and toiletries to help restock the pantry at St. Thomas of Canterbury, Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Church's sharing parish in Chicago.

In February, Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish held its 11th annual Super Bowl Sunday blood drive, and the American Red Cross declared it the largest single-day blood drive by a Catholic church.

The parish said the blood drive honors the life and memory of Kevin Joseph Smith Burke, who died in 2017 at age 23 because of a rare heart condition. Burke grew up attending the parish and its elementary school, and his parents and siblings donated at the parish's first two drives. After his death, a family friend who had been organizing the blood drive approached Burke's parents about renaming the event in his honor.

Sunday's drive will be held at Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish on the St. Francis Xavier Campus in Wilmette.