Austin FC x We Are Blood host community blood drive

Well, the We Are Blood is teaming up with Austin FC today for a special blood drive, giving donors a chance to save lives and a chance to score some Austin FC gear. Fox Five News Jenna King, joins us live now from Q2 Stadium with all of the details. Hey, Jenna. Yeah, hey guys, good morning. We are here at Q2 Stadium, joined by Nick Canedo with We Are Blood. Thanks for joining us. It's a super exciting day here for you guys, but before we get into all the fun, just give us a little bit of background on, you know, We Are Blood, who you guys are, what you guys do. Absolutely. So we are the non-profit blood center serving Central Texas. We've been around since 1951, and today we're the sole supplier of donations to over 50 hospitals and clinics, EMS agencies performing transfusions across 10 counties in Central Texas. Wow, very important work, and you guys are here, you know, kind of stocking up for the holiday season. Walk me through what's in store for today. A very exciting day over here. Absolutely. So today we are partnering with Austin FCs for this big blood drive at Q2 Stadium. We're going to be collecting life-saving donations that are going to help prepare the community blood supply for these holiday months. We're going to be here today at Q2 Stadium from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments are available, but walk-ins are accepted, too. You need to be 17 years or older, weigh at least 115 pounds. We ask that you come well-fed, well-hydrated, and well-rested, and bring a photo ID. You're going to be good to go. Lots of other eligibility criteria, but we're going to walk you through all of those when you come to donate. Very cool, and yeah, great group of people. You've got, you know, volunteers starting to set up. We're going to be out here all morning as that goes on and gets closer. And, of course, you're not just giving blood. It's kind of a fun incentive, cool collaboration. Talk to me about why... Before we get into the goodies, why did we choose Austin FC for this partnership? Yeah, so we've been working with Austin FC directly since they first started hosting blood drives at Q2 Stadium. They are some of our largest blood drives of the year, especially during these critical holiday months. We're excited about how comfortable and awesome the space is within the Lexus Club. It's a great way to come back and give, so please take the opportunity today. All right, and we look pretty good. Talk to me about what you've got going on and how the folks at home can score. Yeah, so every donor who comes to donate today at Q2 Stadium is going to receive this official Rally Scarf, co-branded We Are Blood, Austin FC, Bleed Verde, and be entered for a chance to win a team-signed... Here we go! Good catch! Look at that, guys! Rooted kit jersey, team-signed, every donor entered to win. Lots of goodies. Great reasons to come out today. That's awesome! I mean, who doesn't want to get their hands on one of those? Show it off for us. Look at that. I love that jersey. Signed by the players. You're not just giving back. You get to walk away with some cool merch. And again, what time will you guys be here and where can they find you? 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at Q2 Stadium, Lexus Club. Free parking. Come on in. Come and make a life-saving difference. Come on in. Make a life-saving difference. Snag some cool merch. Thank you so much for all your help. We'll be out here all morning. Um, as, as the day goes on and as things get set up, but for now, we'll set it back to you guys. Yeah. You're helping to save lives and you can win really cool swag. Yeah. Zach got really excited. Zach really wants it. He's going to go get blood today, Jenna. Thanks so much. We are blood. They're teaming up with Austin FC for a special blood drive today, giving donors a chance to save lives and also score some really cool Austin FC swag. Yeah. We got to see a little bit of that earlier this morning. Fox seven Austin's Jenna King joins us live at QT stadium with the details. Hey Jenna. Hey, good morning. Yeah, we've got our Austin FC swag on, joined by Nick Cordero with We Are Blood. Super exciting day here. Setups kind of getting underway as we speak. Walk us through what's in store for today. Yeah, so we're getting ready to kick off one of our largest blood drives of the year. We Are Blood is partnering with Austin FC for this big blood drive at Q2 Stadium today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Collecting life-saving donations that are going to help local patients in Central Texas throughout the holiday season. That's very special. Talk to us about, you know, how these donations... Come back to help the community. Yeah, so We Are Blood is the sole supplier of donations to every hospital, clinic, and EMS agency performing transfusions in Central Texas and every single day. Trauma patients, surgery patients, cancer patients, even mothers and newborns experiencing complications during birth need blood transfusions, and they're relying on donors. Absolutely. And you guys are on the ground, year-round, doing that, just the work that you guys are doing and how important it is. You just touched on it, but just maybe a little bit of background on you guys. Yeah, so we are the nonprofit blood center serving Central Texas. We've been around since 1951, which means we're celebrating 75 years of serving the Central Texas community, but none of what we do is possible. without blood donors coming to visit us at mobile drives like this one at Q2 Stadium or our donor centers across Central Texas. 75 years, that's awesome. Congratulations. And we've got some fun swag on. Let's talk about what these donors can expect when they come on down. Yeah, absolutely. So every donor who turns out at Q2 Stadium today is going to receive a co-branded We Are Blood and Austin FC rally scarf, Bleed Verde, and also be entered to potentially win A team signed Rooted Kit Austin FC jersey, beautiful jersey. So lots of great goodies for donors today. You're going to make a difference for folks in need, but you're also going to come away with something cool. Very fun. And yeah, they'll look as cool as we do in the fun gear. Give us the tips of where people can find you, where, when, and if they're not able to make it, how they can help out. Yeah, so like I said, today, Q2 Stadium, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments are available, but walk-ins are welcome. If you can't come out today, lots of great opportunities to give back throughout the holiday season. Mobile blood drives hosted every day, our open donor centers as well. Volunteer opportunities. Maybe you want to host a mobile blood drive. Visit us at weareblood.org to learn more. A lot of exciting stuff coming up. Come on down. Support a great cause and get some cool swag. Thank you so much, Nick. We'll send it back to you. It's really an amazing collaboration that they're doing this with Austin FC. Very cool stuff. Jenna, thank you so much. We Are Blood is teaming up with Austin FC today for a special blood drive, giving donors a chance to save lives and a chance to score some fun Austin FC gear. It's pretty swaggy, too. We will say that. Jenna King joins us live at Q2 Stadium with more details. Hey, Jenna, good morning. Hello. Yes, we're here in the Lexus Club, joined by Nick Canedo with We Are Blood. It's been such a fun morning exploring, and we're getting close to this big event. Talk to me what's going on right behind us. We are super excited. We are about to kick off things here at Q2 Stadium for a life-saving blood drive in partnership with Austin FC. We're going to be here from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. collecting donations. They're going to make a huge difference for Central Texas patients. Throughout the holiday season. Absolutely. And we talked about it, how we're kind of entering these months of maybe a drop in numbers. Talk to me about, you know, what these, what today. The impact that that has for you guys in these tough months. Yeah, so we anticipate a dip in donations every holiday season. Folks become busy with travel, family commitments, schools are out of session. Over holiday weeks, we can see as much as a 30% decrease in donations. So big blood drives like this ensure that we can protect the community blood supply throughout those months and make sure patients can spend time with their families. I like that. Very special, important work that you guys are doing. Walk me through how easy it is to kind of come in and what that process maybe looks like. What are the? What are the requirements for the folks wondering if they can stop by? Yeah, basic eligibility criteria to donate. You need to be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 115 pounds. We ask that you come well-fed, well-hydrated, and well-rested with a photo ID. Entire donation process from the time you check in to the time you're having snacks and refreshments, 45 minutes, only 15 minutes spent in the bed donating. Not too bad. I like it. And you've got your decked out in some cool swag. Talk to me about how Austin FC is involved in this process and how folks can walk away with some fun stuff. Yeah, so we've been partnering with Austin FC since they were founded for these great life-saving blood drives. Today's donors who come to Q2 Stadium are going to walk away with a co-branded Austin FC and We Are Blood rally scarf, Bleed Verde, and every donor is also going to be entered to potentially win a team-signed rooted kit Austin FC jersey. Let's see it. Show it off for us. Look at that, you guys. Beautiful Rooted Kit jersey team signed. So lots of great goodies today for our donors. You're going to make a difference for a neighbor in need and also have some fun stuff. How does, you know, this come back to the community? You know, we were talking earlier about how, you know, someone was here giving back after experiencing, you know, needing that blood. How important is that blood, and how does it kind of make its way back into the community? Absolutely. So every single day, patients in need in Central Texas for blood transfusions, and they're relying on blood donors. You're talking about surgery patients, trauma patients, cancer patients. Even mothers and newborns experiencing complications during birth, if you haven't donated before or maybe haven't donated in a while, consider giving back this holiday season and coming out to Q2 Stadium today. And if you can't make it today, a lot of fun in store ahead. Kind of what's on the horizon for you guys and how can people learn more? Yeah, really exciting events throughout November and December. We have a competition between UT and A&M, Blood Drive on UT Campus. Lots of different community-hosted events. We also have four brick-and-mortar donor centers. So many different opportunities to give back, including volunteering or hosting your own mobile drive. We're hoping you'll find an interest in it and visit WeAreBlood.org for more information. WeAreBlood.org. And one more time for folks, where and when they can find you today if they want to attend. Yep. Q2 Stadium from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments are available, but walk-ins are accepted. Please come out and give back. We've got a nice snack table. We've got some snazzy gear, of course. A very important cause and a cool team. You can see they're getting ready. Behind us, a little prep meeting before folks come in and hoping for a big turnout today. Thank you so much for walking us through everything this morning. Come on down, 10 to 6, Lexus Club. We'll send it back to you, ladies. It's a great time to give blood. Yeah, about 18 more minutes before it starts. Thanks, Jenna.