Things can get pretty heated when bragging rights and a travelling trophy are up for grabs.
In this year’s Battle of the Badges, the Hutchinson Police Department is hoping to snatch the trophy from the Hutchinson Fire Department. Though we don’t know the cumulative tally over the past nearly 30 years of this competition, the firefighters have secured the trophy for the past several years.
“We have a shelf for it,” Ricky Garcia with HPD said. “It’s dusty, but we have space for it.”
It’s all part of a good-natured effort to raise awareness about the critical need for people in our community to donate blood - and to do so on a regular basis.
I learned a lot while recording this episode.
You can donate blood every 56 days.
There’s a PowerRed option that counts as donating twice.
The number of people donating blood has fallen sharply in the past 20 year.
1 in 7 hospital patients will need a blood transfusion, but only 3 of 100 Americans donate.
I also learned that anyone who presents to donate on Jan. 25, 27, 28, and 29 will get a free t-shirt, an e-gift card, some good homemade foot, and a chance to win tickets to the Super Bowl. (Which we all agreed will feature the Kansas City Chiefs).
This was a fun episode to record - and it is loaded with useful and interesting information about blood donation. If it’s been a minute since you donated, consider giving again. It’s a quick and simple process that can mean the world to another person’s life. And during the Battle of the Badges, each donor can cast a ballot to support their preferred winner of this year’s trophy - and all the bragging rights that come with it.
See the flyer below for more information about how to donate - and vote for your winning team.
Listen to this episode of That Podcast in Hutch on your favorite streaming service, or you can follow this link.
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