The Blood Bank of Delmarva’s third annual Blood for a Brew Summer Tour picks up steam in July with three blood drives scheduled this week and three more next week.

Blood for a Brew is BBD’s summer long sip-n-save program to save lives in collaboration with our favorite local breweries. Present to donate at your favorite participating brewery and get a free T-shirt plus a chance to win a $50 brewery gift card.

The summer period from Memorial Day through Labor Day is a challenging time for collecting blood with school blood drives out of session, ongoing family vacations and the holidays. Encouraging blood donations during this difficult summer period is essential to meeting the needs of patients in our community. This is why our 3rd Annual Blood for a Brew Campaign is so critical to raise awareness on the need for blood and to encourage new blood donors to step-up and save a life.

For the third straight year TD Bank has sponsored Blood for a Brew.

“The need for blood never takes a vacation,” BBD Vice President Emily Cunningham said. “Our focus this summer and next school year is to get as many first timers through the doors as we can, turning them into lifelong blood donors who will remember to take the time to donate on a regular basis.”

BBD Director, Donor Resources Nicole Pineault and Account Manager Gia Rivera are focused on adding appointments to our the Liquid Alchemy blood drive in Wilmington this Friday. That drive has 29 appointments available. Meanwhile, Crooked Hammock in Middletown filled 31 of 40 appointments on Monday while Two Stones Pub in Newark has filled up 32 of 40 appointments for its drive set for Friday.

Click here for a full list of participating breweries, with dates.

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. According to America’s Blood Centers, 62 percent of the population is eligible for to donate, but only 3 percent of that group donates.