A Day with Rochester Fire Station #1

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Feb 26, 2020 | Lauren Brown | @laurenbrown

A special Valentine’s invitation was extended to the Blood Donor Program’s Marketing and Recruitment Team—an invitation to spend the day at Rochester Fire Station #1. The relationship between these two entities evolved with the start of the Donor Program’s Battle of the Badges blood donation campaign. The Battle of the Badges campaign involves the four first-responder groups in Olmsted County competing to see which group can bring in the most blood donations. These first-responders see the need for blood donation each and every day—which is why this campaign makes for some good healthy competition.

One could say this invitation derived from a unique partnership between the Blood Donor Program and the fire station, or one could say the fire station was trying to earn a few “brownie points” before the start of this year's competition (running June, July and August). Although their attempt is quite appealing, the Blood Donor Program prefers to keep the competition fair!

In their time spent at the fire station, the marketing and recruitment team was able to feel the passion that the firemen had for what they do every day. With such lighthearted attitudes and jokes, they were just as quick to adjust their mindsets the second they were called out into the community. The firemen said that without having fun around the station, their job would be much more mentally exhausting.

When discussing the importance of blood product with Brett Knapp, he mentioned, “a blood donation is a huge benefit to those people we see in the street. In a lot of cases, it’s a lifeline for them to receive further care beyond what we are able to provide in the street. It’s a big benefit for the people we are trying to help…”

The marketing and recruitment team stated that this opportunity is one that they will never forget—that it was incredible to see the calls from the community come in and watch just how diligently the firemen worked to get to that call. It was an unforgettable experience! The Blood Donor Program looks forward to their annual Battle of the Badges competition between the four first-responder groups in Olmsted County, with no bias as to who wins of course!

How to Donate
For more information about donating blood in Rochester, Minnesota, call (507) 284-4475 or email donateblood@mayo.edu. Or visit our webpage http://www.mayoclinic.org/donateblood.

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