MTN In the Community: 10th Annual Leslie’s Legacy of Love Blood Drive

TENTH ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE TO BE HELD IN MEMORY OF LESLIE MCLENDON

Blood drive will honor beloved sister, daughter, aunt, and former CBC employee

Community Blood Center (CBC), in partnership with the McLendon family, is hosting the 10^th Annual Leslie’s Legacy of Love blood drive on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The annual drive honors Leslie McLendon, who passed away in 2012. Leslie was a beloved sister, daughter, aunt, and former CBC employee who dedicated her professional career to helping others. It was for this reason, Kansas City Mayor Sylvester “Sly” James, Jr and the KC Council, announced that Resolution NO. 130236 in honor Leslie McLendon, would declare every first weekend in April as Leslie’s Legacy of Love Blood Drive Weekend in Kansas City.

Leslie was a catalyst for change in the Kansas City community. She helped coordinate urban outreach programs targeted towards at risk youth, neighborhood empowerment, community revitalization, and health awareness to underserved populations. At the time of her passing, Leslie was exercising her passion for her community through her work as a Community Outreach Coordinator at CBC, focused on recruiting blood donors for people with sickle cell disease.

“Leslie loved people and she loved life!” said Ursula McLendon, Leslie’s sister. “Celebrate the joy she brought to the world by donating life-saving blood in her honor.”

The McLendon family invites community members, friends, family, and Leslie’s former coworkers at CBC to make a life-saving blood donation at the 10^th Annual Leslie’s Legacy of Love Blood Drive. The drive will be held on Leslie’s birthday, Saturday, April 1 from 10am-2pm at Centennial United Methodist Church (1834 Woodland Ave, Kansas City, MO 64108). Donors can make an appointment by calling 877.468.6844 or visit www.savealifenow.org/group and enter Group Code: CB92.

It only takes one hour to donate, and a single donation can save multiple lives. Roughly one in seven hospital admissions require a blood transfusion. Those in need include: cancer patients, accident, burn, or trauma victims, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, and many more.

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About Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC)

Founded in 1958, Community Blood Center (CBC) provides over 90% of the blood used by hospitals throughout the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as eastern Kansas and western Missouri. CBC provides nearly 200,000 blood products each year to over 60 area hospitals and relies on volunteer donors each day to meet the need for lifesaving gifts of blood. CBC operates 365/24/7 to deliver safe, high quality products to meet transfusion needs for routine care and emergencies. CBC is a Division of New York Blood Center, Inc. (a family of operating Divisions known as New York Blood Center Enterprises). For more information, visit savealifenow.org. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.