Calendar of Events

The Blood Connection (TBC) now has an urgent need for O negative blood donations specifically in its Upstate region, which includes Greenville, Spartanburg, Lexington, Easley, Greenwood, and Seneca in South Carolina as well as Asheville and Hendersonville in western North Carolina. TBC is the exclusive blood provider for all hospitals in these regions.

O negative blood is the most transfused blood type for traumas and emergencies, so the demand never wavers. O negative blood donors are often referred to as the “universal donor” since everyone, no matter their blood type, can receive O negative blood. TBC now finds itself with dangerously low inventory levels of O negative blood and blood products caused by continued low donor turnout and recent trauma cases at TBC hospital partners in South Carolina.

The only way for the O negative blood supply to be replenished is for the public to donate blood. Anyone who knows they have O negative blood is urged to donate blood with TBC immediately. If potential donors do not know their blood type, they can donate with TBC and blood type information will be shared.

TBC has spent the past year battling historically low blood donor turnout. After many pleas with the South Carolina and North Carolina community, TBC has seen some recovery from these low collection numbers, but not enough to comfortably sustain the local hospital blood supply. TBC aims to have a 5-7 day supply of O negative blood but has recently had a 2-3 day supply. In some instances, one trauma case alone can use up that supply. Only about 7% of the world’s population has O negative blood.

To find a donor center or mobile unit location to donate, go to thebloodconnection.org/donate, call 864-751-1154, or walk into any donor center or mobile unit. TBC has eight donor center locations in the Upstate and western North Carolina regions.

• All blood donors will receive a Raglan t-shirt, a clear bag, and two tickets to a future Tourists game.  All donors will also receive a hot dog lunch and drink.

 The Blood Connection, the non-profit community blood center, and the Asheville Tourists are proud to renew their partnership to support the local blood supply in the Western Carolinas while bringing baseball fun to blood donors across the region. The Asheville Tourists are a longstanding member of the Lifesaver League – a group of minor league sports teams committed to serving their community through hosting blood drives and encouraging blood donation.

“The Blood Connection are wonderful partners and we look forward to doing our part to help the Western North Carolina communities.  Providing a convenient location as well as a great ballpark hotdog to the donors is a small contribution for all the great work The Blood Connection provides our area,” said Tourists General Manager Larry Hawkins.

The Tourists have called Asheville home for decades and have been a consistent partner of The Blood Connection.  TBC is the community blood center serving the Carolinas, and is the sole blood supplier for Mission Health, Advent Health, and Pardee Health, among a dozen others across the mountains. After a year of historically low blood donor turnout, TBC is even more reliant on partners like the Tourists to host successful blood drives this season.

“Our Lifesaver League partnerships are a longstanding tradition within The Blood Connection, and we are excited for another season hosting drives with the Asheville Tourists,” said Delisa English, President and CEO of The Blood Connection.  “We’re looking forward to reaching more potential blood donors across Western North Carolina by bringing our blood donation opportunities to Tourists fans and McCormick Field.  Local hospitals certainly need their donations desperately.”

The Blood Connection (TBC) now has an urgent need for O negative blood donations specifically in its Upstate region, which includes Greenville, Spartanburg, Lexington, Easley, Greenwood, and Seneca in South Carolina as well as Asheville and Hendersonville in western North Carolina. TBC is the exclusive blood provider for all hospitals in these regions.

O negative blood is the most transfused blood type for traumas and emergencies, so the demand never wavers. O negative blood donors are often referred to as the “universal donor” since everyone, no matter their blood type, can receive O negative blood. TBC now finds itself with dangerously low inventory levels of O negative blood and blood products caused by continued low donor turnout and recent trauma cases at TBC hospital partners in South Carolina.

The only way for the O negative blood supply to be replenished is for the public to donate blood. Anyone who knows they have O negative blood is urged to donate blood with TBC immediately. If potential donors do not know their blood type, they can donate with TBC and blood type information will be shared.

TBC has spent the past year battling historically low blood donor turnout. After many pleas with the South Carolina and North Carolina community, TBC has seen some recovery from these low collection numbers, but not enough to comfortably sustain the local hospital blood supply. TBC aims to have a 5-7 day supply of O negative blood but has recently had a 2-3 day supply. In some instances, one trauma case alone can use up that supply. Only about 7% of the world’s population has O negative blood.

To find a donor center or mobile unit location to donate, go to thebloodconnection.org/donate, call 864-751-1154, or walk into any donor center or mobile unit. TBC has eight donor center locations in the Upstate and western North Carolina regions.

Every year, AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums throw a ‘Party for the Planet’ to encourage people to take action to create healthy habitats for wildlife and humans to thrive together.

Endangered Species Day launches the WNC Nature Center’s ongoing partnership with ECO-CELL, an organization that recycles electronic devices to help protect crucial rainforest habitats. Starting May 20 through the end of the year, you can bring your old, broken, or bedazzled electronics to the Ticket Office at the Front Entrance of the WNC Nature Center and donate them to support conservation efforts.

Accepted items for recycling include cell phones, smartphones, iPhones, iPods, iPads, tablets, Apple/Android watches, bluetooth, tablets, GPS, MP3 players, e-readers, digital cameras, handheld gaming systems and the accessories that come with them.

Electronic devices like tablets and cell phones contain an ore called Coltan, which coats the capacitors inside gadgets to make them energy efficient. This ore is found in great quantities in the Congo, home to the critically endangered gorilla and chimpanzee. Due to Coltan mining in the Congo, the eastern lowland gorilla population has declined 90 percent. Recycling your gadgets with ECO-CELL helps save these animals by reducing the demand for Coltan and providing funds to conservation organizations.

The WNC Nature Center will be donating all proceeds to the Red Wolf Coalition to help protect one of the most endangered canines in the world, the American Red Wolf.

*Regular admission applies

Questions about this event? Email Chrissy at [email protected] for more information!

Grab your friends, grab your family and join Odyssey Community School for an evening of music, dance and joy! Ticket includes food, 1 drink and headphones for our Silent Disco fundraiser event!

Wands for Wildlife inspires people to help wildlife and the environment through re-purposing discarded mascara wands for use in wildlife care, art and education. Old mascara wands are received from people across the country and even around the world. When they arrive, they must be sorted to remove unusable (dirty/frayed) wands and specialty wands to use in art. The rest are provided to Wildlife Caregivers to help in their work to save injured and orphaned wild animals. Volunteers are needed to help with sorting the inventory of wands – email for more information and to sign up to help.

The blood from BERC Network blood banks is being sent to South Texas Blood and Tissue, the steward of the local blood supply in that part of Texas. TBC has more blood in reserve to send if called upon again. In order to help other communities, the local blood supply must be stable. It’s important to have an available day-to-day blood supply on the shelves in the event of any emergencies – locally or BERC-assisted – when blood and time are critical. The community is urged to donate blood now at any TBC center or bloodmobile.

WNC Bridge Foundation is excited to welcome the local community to our new facility on Thursday, May 26 from 11:00am – 4:00pm. The Open House will be in conjunction with a Community Blood Drive in partnership with The Blood Connection. We look forward to seeing our neighbors and friends for a tour our facility and to learn more about our Community Initiatives and regional impact, while presenting an opportunity to give back to the local community through the on-site Blood Drive.

Each blood donation saves up to 3 lives!  Donors need to be at least 16 years old (16-year-old need a permission slip), weigh at least 110 pounds, have ID and be in general good health. Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are honored first! Please schedule an appointment by clicking on this link:

https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/192357

A $20 eGift card will be given to individual donors for each blood donation collected. For any questions regarding the Open House or Blood Drive, please contact Morgan Bradley at: [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you there!

The blood from BERC Network blood banks is being sent to South Texas Blood and Tissue, the steward of the local blood supply in that part of Texas. TBC has more blood in reserve to send if called upon again. In order to help other communities, the local blood supply must be stable. It’s important to have an available day-to-day blood supply on the shelves in the event of any emergencies – locally or BERC-assisted – when blood and time are critical. The community is urged to donate blood now at any TBC center or bloodmobile.

The blood from BERC Network blood banks is being sent to South Texas Blood and Tissue, the steward of the local blood supply in that part of Texas. TBC has more blood in reserve to send if called upon again. In order to help other communities, the local blood supply must be stable. It’s important to have an available day-to-day blood supply on the shelves in the event of any emergencies – locally or BERC-assisted – when blood and time are critical. The community is urged to donate blood now at any TBC center or bloodmobile.

The blood from BERC Network blood banks is being sent to South Texas Blood and Tissue, the steward of the local blood supply in that part of Texas. TBC has more blood in reserve to send if called upon again. In order to help other communities, the local blood supply must be stable. It’s important to have an available day-to-day blood supply on the shelves in the event of any emergencies – locally or BERC-assisted – when blood and time are critical. The community is urged to donate blood now at any TBC center or bloodmobile.

The blood from BERC Network blood banks is being sent to South Texas Blood and Tissue, the steward of the local blood supply in that part of Texas. TBC has more blood in reserve to send if called upon again. In order to help other communities, the local blood supply must be stable. It’s important to have an available day-to-day blood supply on the shelves in the event of any emergencies – locally or BERC-assisted – when blood and time are critical. The community is urged to donate blood now at any TBC center or bloodmobile.

May 30th is Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day- a time reserved to honor those who have fought and died for the freedoms we exercise. Many soldiers have paid for our liberties with their lives and it is our honor at Buncombe County Veterans Services to serve their families on Memorial Day and every day.

To serve our Veterans and their families better, we have added a new staff member to the Veterans Services Team. “We are fortunate to welcome Ivan Sarabia to our staff,” says Heath Smith, Director of Veterans Services for Buncombe County HHS. “His years of experience in Veterans Affairs and Patient Advocacy made him an exceptional choice for this role and we are proud to have him on our team.”

Ivan relocated to Buncombe County after establishing himself as an exceptional Veterans Services Officer and Patient Advocate in several states around the region. His motivation to serve the Veteran community is grounded in his personal military experience. Ivan is an Army Veteran with the 101st Airborne Division in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He served as a Combat Engineer and served a tour in Afghanistan. “My time in the Army is something I look back on fondly and I’m thankful for the lifelong friendships and lessons I learned while serving,” Ivan says. “However, after leaving the military I faced many hurdles adjusting back to civilian life. Luckily, I was able to connect with other Veterans and healthcare providers at the VA who helped me navigate the benefits that were available to smooth that transition. These experiences fueled my desire and passion to pursue a career in which I could help fellow Veterans.”

Buncombe County is committed to honoring fallen soldiers, veterans, and their families and we want to make sure everyone in our community has a chance to honor them as well. Join the Buncombe Community in solidarity at the following events taking place in our county this Memorial Day.

Heath Smith, Veteran Services Director for Buncombe County Health and Human Services, is participating in the Memorial Day program for the Mayor’s Veterans Council. The event will take place on May 30, 2022, at 3 p.m. at Pack Square Park. The keynote speaker will be Spencer Ellis Hardaway, a retired Army Chaplain who received the Bronze Star and served in Iraq from 2009 to 2010.

Additionally, you can pay tribute to our heroes at the Western North Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain. The sight of 5,700+ graves, each marked with an American flag, is striking and serves as a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made to secure our rights. The Memorial Day service takes place at 10 AM on Monday, May 30.