— As a 30+ year healthcare professional manager and an American Red Cross blood donor, Councilwoman Theresa Coates Ellis was concerned about the lack of appointments available for blood donations during a pandemic.

Ellis said, “I contacted the American Red Cross to offer my place of business for a blood drive. After speaking with donor recruiter, I learned that previous scheduled places had cancelled due to the COVID-19 closings because of lack of space to allow social distancing. My space was too small, so I contacted several organizations in the City of Manassas to connect them to the Red Cross.”

The Red Cross and Ellis mapped out areas in need of convenient locations.  Thankfully, several churches and locations were added to the blood drive list. The City of Manassas now has a good selection of appointment opportunities.  Please check the requirements and guidelines and if you qualify, consider donating by making an appointment on the American Red Cross website.

Blood Drive List: 

Name and Location                                                                  

Manassas Volunteer Rescue                                               
9322 Center Street                                                             
Manassas, VA  20110

Mon., Aug 3  from  1-7pm
Thurs. Aug. 20 from 1-7pm
Thurs. Sept. 17 from 2-7pm
Mon., Oct. 5 from 1-7pm
Thurs. Oct. 15 from 1-7pm

Manassas Baptist Church                                                  
8730 Sudley Rd                                                                     
Manassas, VA 20110

Thur. Oct. 8 from 12-6pm
Wed. Aug. 5 from 10am-4pm

Grace United Methodist Church                                       
9750 Wellington Rd
Manassas, Virginia 20110

Wed. Aug. 5 from 10am-7pm

Knights of Columbus George Brent Council                
9290 Stonewall Rd.
Manassas, VA 20110

Sat. Aug. 15 from 8am-1pm

Manassas Church of the Brethren                                  
10047 Nokesville Road
Manassas, VA 20110

Fri. Aug. 28 from 10am-4pm

Email letter of thanks to Councilwoman Theresa Coates Ellis from the American Red Cross:

Dated June 24, 2020

Hello Theresa,

“I just wanted to send my heartfelt gratitude regarding the efforts that you have put into expanding the American Red Cross Blood Program in Manassas, Virginia.

Thanks to your efforts, on August 5th we now have Grace United Methodist Church running with a goal of 42 Units and Manassas Baptist Church running with a goal of 50 Units. This represents the potential to save approximately 276 lives!

On top of that, both have expressed willingness to continue running Blood Drives, so your impact will quite likely have positive reverberations for years and years to come.

Thank you so much for this, our August needed a boost during that first week, we had lost multiple Blood Drives due to size restrictions and locations being closed to the public. Your efforts have made a huge difference!”

Steven Bratland
Donor Recruitment | American Red Cross