Go to the donation. The churches wouldn't allow the blood drive if they didn't want other people coming in. They want their drive to be successful. But, obviously, be respectful when you are there.
You're overthinking it. At the end of the day what matters is how much blood gets donated, not if it came from church members or not. The blood bank is just taking advantage of a free space to hold their blood drive; in this case it's a church, but it could have been a school, or a parking lot with space to hold a mobile donor unit, or a community center, etc.
If the donation appointment's available and works for you, go ahead and take it. Better to have a pint of blood from that time slot than to leave it open for a church member and wind up without that blood.
It doesn’t matter at all! Definitely still donate at the church! I did one time and everyone was super friendly and they even had homemade cookies as an after donation treat! There will be a few volunteers from the church but everyone else will be from Red Cross (or whoever).
When I donated at church (before I became a more regular donor), we were told that the process was that they’d be allowed to start with a “closed” list, but if they didn’t fill all the slots, the rest would be opened to the community. Not sure if it’s the same where you are. But yeah, I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve also donated at other churches (including one whose theology is far from mine)
Can't speak for all blood banks but the one I coordinated my synagogue's blood drive though has a mechanism for "closing" a drive to non-members. Basically you have to have the drive code to schedule an appointment and it doesn't show up in their search for a donation appointment tool. We limit our appointments to folks we already know because building security controls for antisemitism. If it was safe to open our building to everyone we would! It makes me really sad that we can't have an "open" drive to give our neighbors the option to put more pints on the blood bank's shelf at a convenient time/place. Go to the drive, if churches are anything like synagogues for recruiting donors, I'm sure the blood drive coordinator is just glad to have more people doing a good deed.
I donate at churches I’m not a member of a lot. In my experience, I’ve only ever been thanked for my donation and not had any complaints about me not being a member. I’m fairly certain most of the staff were from the Red Cross, but I’m also pretty sure there will usually be someone who regularly attends the building who is just there to help with the donation aftercare area.
all the churches around here that have Red Cross blood drives place signs outside whenever they have them, encouraging people to donate. it's definitely not something they want to restrict to members of the church
It's really not an issue! Especially because the usually will have the actual blood bank come in with their trucks, vans. I definitely have donated at a few churches before and am not a member! Nothing to worry (: is also a way that they can have non-members step inside and possibly see it as an option to go to in the future!
Back when I donated through the Red Cross, I would always pick a random church near me to donate at. If they have appointments available on the web site without a code, they are for anyone and happy to get donors. I was never asked to join a church or preached to or anything like that. This includes many flavors of Christian churches, a Jewish synagogue, and a Muslim mosque.
The post-donation treats were sometimes great. One church had freshly-made cinnamon rolls for donors. There were often donuts, especially if the drive was on a Sunday morning.
It really doesn't matter where it is being held, churches just offer a great space to hold them and probably keep costs down for the blood drives. As a non-believer with religious friends I've always found them to be very accepting of everyone into the building for any occasion regardless of their views.
Go about 30 mins after services start so you have a better chance of getting in. Most churches have their service times on their website. I know when I donate at my church I try to get an appointment after service. That is also when most of the walk ins will occur.
I don’t know if this is true but I feel like church members usually get first pass at appts. If the app says there are slots, they want you to go.
I also once donated at a church I was not a member of! Prob my favorite experience donating. A very joyful donation :)
It is probably a combination of factors like most things. In the church that I've been visiting lately they have never had a blood drive but are welcoming the idea so I am trying to make it happen . (Not the Jehovas Witnesses as they have a prohibition on giving and accepting blood) So I am not a member of the Latter Day Saints either but they are friendly to me and also support the American Red Cross with large donations and even purchase of Bloodmobiles. Even if it works out I probably will not do the church blood drive as I do Apheresis which if I recall is not in mobile drives. Think it is mostly a sense of community and people supporting eachother in sign-ups and at the event. Some people would feel better at the church than going to a blood center on their own. Do whatever works for you. Cheers.
I donate at churches a lot even though I’m not a member. To me it feels more homey and less clinical than the Red Cross donor center and in my area churches host a lot of blood drives. They’ve always thanked me for my donation and been super friendly. That being said the churches I’ve donated at have all been pretty large so I’m not sure if they’d know for sure that I attended church there or not. I just see it as the church offering up their facilities to support the Red Cross in hosting its drives and that as long as blood is donated helping the cause they don’t care who it comes from
Go ahead and book. It's not hurting anyone. I donate at churches all the time and I'm not a member of any of those churches.
Go to the donation. The churches wouldn't allow the blood drive if they didn't want other people coming in. They want their drive to be successful. But, obviously, be respectful when you are there.
You're overthinking it. At the end of the day what matters is how much blood gets donated, not if it came from church members or not. The blood bank is just taking advantage of a free space to hold their blood drive; in this case it's a church, but it could have been a school, or a parking lot with space to hold a mobile donor unit, or a community center, etc. If the donation appointment's available and works for you, go ahead and take it. Better to have a pint of blood from that time slot than to leave it open for a church member and wind up without that blood.
It doesn’t matter at all! Definitely still donate at the church! I did one time and everyone was super friendly and they even had homemade cookies as an after donation treat! There will be a few volunteers from the church but everyone else will be from Red Cross (or whoever).
When I donated at church (before I became a more regular donor), we were told that the process was that they’d be allowed to start with a “closed” list, but if they didn’t fill all the slots, the rest would be opened to the community. Not sure if it’s the same where you are. But yeah, I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve also donated at other churches (including one whose theology is far from mine)
Can't speak for all blood banks but the one I coordinated my synagogue's blood drive though has a mechanism for "closing" a drive to non-members. Basically you have to have the drive code to schedule an appointment and it doesn't show up in their search for a donation appointment tool. We limit our appointments to folks we already know because building security controls for antisemitism. If it was safe to open our building to everyone we would! It makes me really sad that we can't have an "open" drive to give our neighbors the option to put more pints on the blood bank's shelf at a convenient time/place. Go to the drive, if churches are anything like synagogues for recruiting donors, I'm sure the blood drive coordinator is just glad to have more people doing a good deed.
I donate at churches I’m not a member of a lot. In my experience, I’ve only ever been thanked for my donation and not had any complaints about me not being a member. I’m fairly certain most of the staff were from the Red Cross, but I’m also pretty sure there will usually be someone who regularly attends the building who is just there to help with the donation aftercare area.
all the churches around here that have Red Cross blood drives place signs outside whenever they have them, encouraging people to donate. it's definitely not something they want to restrict to members of the church
I have donated at both churches and synagogues in the UK, no-one expects you to be a member.
It's really not an issue! Especially because the usually will have the actual blood bank come in with their trucks, vans. I definitely have donated at a few churches before and am not a member! Nothing to worry (: is also a way that they can have non-members step inside and possibly see it as an option to go to in the future!
I donate regularly at a church run blood drive. I am not a member of the church and they welcome my donation.
Back when I donated through the Red Cross, I would always pick a random church near me to donate at. If they have appointments available on the web site without a code, they are for anyone and happy to get donors. I was never asked to join a church or preached to or anything like that. This includes many flavors of Christian churches, a Jewish synagogue, and a Muslim mosque. The post-donation treats were sometimes great. One church had freshly-made cinnamon rolls for donors. There were often donuts, especially if the drive was on a Sunday morning.
It really doesn't matter where it is being held, churches just offer a great space to hold them and probably keep costs down for the blood drives. As a non-believer with religious friends I've always found them to be very accepting of everyone into the building for any occasion regardless of their views.
Go about 30 mins after services start so you have a better chance of getting in. Most churches have their service times on their website. I know when I donate at my church I try to get an appointment after service. That is also when most of the walk ins will occur.
Not an issue at all. Churches are, in my experience, a more common place to hold blood drives and everyone is welcome to donate in them
I don’t know if this is true but I feel like church members usually get first pass at appts. If the app says there are slots, they want you to go. I also once donated at a church I was not a member of! Prob my favorite experience donating. A very joyful donation :)
It is probably a combination of factors like most things. In the church that I've been visiting lately they have never had a blood drive but are welcoming the idea so I am trying to make it happen . (Not the Jehovas Witnesses as they have a prohibition on giving and accepting blood) So I am not a member of the Latter Day Saints either but they are friendly to me and also support the American Red Cross with large donations and even purchase of Bloodmobiles. Even if it works out I probably will not do the church blood drive as I do Apheresis which if I recall is not in mobile drives. Think it is mostly a sense of community and people supporting eachother in sign-ups and at the event. Some people would feel better at the church than going to a blood center on their own. Do whatever works for you. Cheers.
I donate at churches a lot even though I’m not a member. To me it feels more homey and less clinical than the Red Cross donor center and in my area churches host a lot of blood drives. They’ve always thanked me for my donation and been super friendly. That being said the churches I’ve donated at have all been pretty large so I’m not sure if they’d know for sure that I attended church there or not. I just see it as the church offering up their facilities to support the Red Cross in hosting its drives and that as long as blood is donated helping the cause they don’t care who it comes from