Battle of the Badges brings in blood donors to support Thomasville community

THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) – First responders in Thomasville spent the day helping the community in a different way.

Members of both the police department and fire department rolled up their sleeves to donate blood as a part of a friendly competition called Battle of the Badges.

The donations drive started at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Ball Park Community Center.

Bragging rights were on the line to see which agency could donate the best blood and recruit people to donate on their agency's behalf.

Heather Frazee with the American Red Cross said the real winners are the people who depend on these life-saving donations.

"We're hoping today that we'll have a minimum of 60 people that come out ... Those 60 units of blood can help more than 60 people. It really makes a difference. We need blood for ... trauma patients but also people that need blood transfusions on a regular basis based on maybe cancer treatments or other ailments that they have," she said.

To first responders, it's about giving back to the community they serve each day.

"It's our way of giving back ... We do typically see the incidents where there's bad situations, but this is our way of giving back to the community as well," Deputy Chief of Thomasville Fire Michael Wilson said.

You can find more American Red Cross blood drives by visiting their website.