Seth Johnson
With some local blood supply on backorder, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers and MARC Radio held its second annual DJs Unite For LifeSouth on Saturday, drawing in dozens of donors.
The radio stations offered up two tickets to Universal Orlando while all donors received DJs Unite for Life T-shirts and a $25 gift card.
Victoria Lawrence won the prize but DJ Larry Wilson had a tough time giving them to her: She thought it was a spam call and hung up on him the first time but was overjoyed when she finally heard the news.
This year’s event grew from last year—both in donors and locations.
The inaugural event in 2021 garnered 60 donors, and DJ’s only manned the LifeSouth location on Newberry Road. This year’s event drew 74 donors.
“In promotions, I’ve learned over the course of time in radio, if you have an annual type of event or promotion, you always try to enhance it a little bit each year,” said Wilson, DJ for Classic Hits 100.9 and 106.9 I Am Country, said in a phone interview.
This year, DJs showed up at locations in Gainesville, Jonesville and Lake City from five different stations: Magic 101.3, R&B 94.1, 106.9 I Am Country and Classic Hits 100.9 and 100.5 the Buzz.
“If we’re at three locations, it gives people more convenience to go to a location that we’re including that’s best for where they’re at,” Wilson said.
All blood given to LifeSouth heads to local hospitals after running through a series of tests and procedures. Read about what happens after you donate the blood.