VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Coastal Edge, the Pembroke Mall, and Vans announced a partnership on Thursday to bring a massive, much-needed blood drive to the Hampton Roads community as part of the “Be A Life Saver” campaign.

The goal of the drive will be to collect about 300 pints of blood and as a gift to donors, Coastal Edge will give a pair of Vans shoes on a first-come, first-serve basis while supplies last. The drive will be at the Pembroke Mall which is currently closed until May 8, and the entire mall will be used to promote safe social distances between donors.

The Pembroke Mall is located at 4554 Virginia Beach Boulevard and the drive will be on the following dates and times:

  • Monday, April 27: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Wednesday, May 6: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Thursday, May 7: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Friday, May 8: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The American Red Cross is in desperate need of blood donations throughout Hampton Roads. In a statement released, donations are down nearly 80% due to donation cancellations and coronavirus closures. Typically, half of those blood donations come from high school drives and the other half comes from business drives.

Volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need.

As of mid-March, the American Red Cross said that nearly 2,700 blood drives were canceled as a result of the coronavirus. These closures resulted in nearly 86,000 fewer blood donations. Updated numbers from the Red Cross have yet to be released.

The FDA also recently eased donor eligibility to try and help get more donors to come forward.

The Red Cross is taking the proper measures to ensure blood donations are done safely.

Those that want to avoid crowds all together can set up an appointment online.

“You can still go out and give blood. We’re worried about potential blood shortages in the future. Social distancing does not have to mean social disengagement,” said the U.S. Surgeon General on the Red Cross website.

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