September 5th through 7th Vitalant hosted a special blood drive in honor of the victims of the El Paso, TX mass shooting which occurred on August 3, 2019. A gunman shot and killed 22 people and injured 24 others. This drive was sponsored by Conexión San Angelo, Tony Villarreal State Farm Insurance Agent, The Law Office of Rick DeHoyos, the Association of Mexican-American Students (AMAS) from Angelo State University and West Texas Community Reinvesting in Educational Opportunities (CREO).
The sponsors provided a pair of Dallas Cowboy game tickets as an incentive for people to come out and donate. AMAS with ASU allowed a space for the Vitalant Mobile unite to set up on campus to allow students to participate in donating.
“We all felt what happened in El Paso. We thank God we’re able to help in some way and we continue to pray for the affected families,” commented Tony Villarreal.
“I feel that as Hispanics we are like a big family and when a brother or sister gets hurts, we all feel it and we all unite to help each other. United we can be very strong.” Stated Rick DeHoyos
According to Minnie Vigil of Vitalant when the mobile unit was at the ASU campus, they exceeded their expectations. The Dallas Cowboy tickets drawing was won by Juan Garcia who came from Ozona to donate.
Vitalant needs to have blood on the shelf every day not just in the case of a tragic event. There is a process that takes place after the initial donation such as testing before it is ready to be used, therefore it is important to constantly encourage the community to donate.
For information about donating or to set up an appointment please call Vitalant at 325-223-7500 or visit them at 2020 W. Beauregard Ave, San Angelo, TX 76901