American Red Cross Kicks Off Promotion with Omaha Beef

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Red Cross huddles up with Omaha Beef Football to offer donors new incentive

OMAHA, Neb. (April 5, 2008) – The American Red Cross and Omaha Beef Football have teamed up for the first time with the goal of raising awareness about the need of blood. To encourage people to ‘Bleed for the Beef’ all presenting Red Cross blood donors through May 31st will receive a 2-for-1 ticket voucher to an Omaha Beef Football game.

During the campaign, Omaha Beef players, dancers and staff are encouraging fans to give the gift of life by donating blood to the Red Cross. To keep score of donations coming in, there will be a stadium banner at all home games keeping track of the number of units of blood collected during the promotion for the entire 2008 season.

“The Beef hopes to increase the amount of blood collected by Red Cross in May by ten percent from the same time last year,” said Dakota Crow, Omaha Beef Football President. “We’re hoping that the Red Cross will collect around 6,500 pints of blood in May with some help from the Beef.”

The campaign will also feature Red Cross Night at an Omaha Beef home game on May 17, 2008. Red Cross donors, volunteers and staff will be recognized at halftime with a special ceremony. The game also coincides with Armed Forces Night, with the Red Cross Heartland Chapter bringing their VidiConnect so people can send two-minute video messages to their loved ones serving overseas via email.

This time of year it starts to become more difficult to maintain a stable blood supply as donors get busy with the end of the school year, graduations and the Memorial Day holiday. Score a touchdown for the Red Cross and give the gift of life.

Donors need to be at least 17 years of age, 16 in Nebraska with a signed Red Cross parental/guardian consent form, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health to donate. Eligible donors can call 1.800.GIVE.LIFE or go online to givebloodgivelife.org for more information and to make a blood donation appointment.

About the Red Cross
The Omaha, Neb.-based Midwest Region supplies blood products and specialized laboratory services to more than 80 hospitals in Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado and Kansas. In a lifesaving partnership with approximately 73,000 volunteer blood donors, 1,200 volunteer blood drive coordinators and 618 staff members, the Midwest Region organizes nearly 2,800 blood drives in an effort to collect more than 150,000 pints of blood each year for patients in need. The Midwest Region is one of four regions that make up the Mid-America Division of the American Red Cross Blood Services.

About Omaha Beef Football
The BEEF are in their ninth year of Professional Indoor Football in Omaha, NE. Home games are played March through June. All home games start at 7:00pm at "The Slaughterhouse" - Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Omaha Beef are committed to making a positive difference in the Omaha area through football, fun and community service. For more information about the BEEF call (402) 346-BEEF (2333) or log on to www.BEEFFOOTBALL.com.
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