Show Your School Spirit Montana, Griz/Cat Blood Drive is On

The rivalry between the University of Montana and Montana State University goes back generations and remains just as strong today as it has been for well over 100 years. There’s always something special when teams from the two schools meet, regardless of the sport. Whether on the football field, basketball court, soccer pitch, ice rink, or lacrosse field, the teams always step up, and you’re almost guaranteed a great game.

There is also a lot of good that comes out of this rivalry. The rivalry has spawned food drives, and blood drives over the years. Both of these events help more Montana communities than just Missoula or Bozeman. The annual "Can the Cats" and "Can the Griz" food drives are getting underway and so is the annual Red Cross Griz/Cat Blood Drive.

The American Red Cross has had a significant need for blood donations this past year, making this a perfect time to roll up your sleeves and donate. The best part is, it won’t cost you a thing. I spoke with Keeley Van Middendorp about the upcoming drives.

Our drives start next week, right on Monday at the Southgate Mall, we're going to be there from noon to five. So people have plenty of time to look at their schedule over the weekend and sign up at redcrossblood.org. We also have a drive on Wednesday, another one on Thursday that's going to be at the Todd Center on campus and another drive on Friday at School of Pharmacy on campus. Really every day except Tuesday, we're going to be collecting life, saving blood and seeing who can show the most team spirit.

If you want your donation to go towards the competition you can use the code grizcatchallenge (all one word) when registering at RedCrossblood.org. You can also download the Red Cross app and that can help streamline the process of checking in when donating blood.

There are some pretty cool incentives for donating this time around, including a chance to win some money.

People that sign up to donate blood, there's several really exciting incentives this month. Donors will receive a $10.00 gift card by e-mail. They'll also receive a Red Cross Cat/Griz blood battle T-shirt while supplies last. Then they're going to get a chance to win $7000. So pretty exciting, especially before the holidays. Get some shopping done.

One thing I appreciate about being a blood donor is that the Red Cross lets you know where your donation goes. One donation can help save more than one life, and many donations are used right here in Montana. No matter which side you’re rooting for, please consider donating to help the people of Montana.