Tom Brady loves some good competition, especially when it involves his alma mater, the University of Michigan.
He loves it even more when it has an important impact on our country, too.
Brady has teamed up with Abbott, the multinational medical devices and health care company, and the Big Ten Conference for their first-of-its-kind We Give Blood Drive, a nationwide blood donation competition among all 18 schools in the conference that will help tackle a health problem in the United States.
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"We’re at a huge blood shortage in the U.S., and for every blood donation, you can save up to three lives," Brady told Fox News Digital Thursday. "I think that’s the important part. Sometimes, we take for granted the little things that make big impacts, and this is one of them."
Brady said he has been a blood donor since his freshman year of high school because he knows how far just one donation can go.
Blood donations are needed for a wide variety of reasons, whether it’s trauma and accident victims, women dealing with childbirth complications or individuals going through cancer treatments. And young donors are the key because fewer and fewer under the age of 25 have been volunteering to give blood.
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To reignite interest, there are 1 million reasons to engage in this blood drive across the 18 college campuses in the Big Ten. There’s also a chance to win two tickets and a trip to the Big Ten Football championship game.
The way the We Give Blood Drive initiative works is students, alumni and fans of the 18 schools involved will see mobile blood drives on campuses throughout the college football season, from Sept. 26 through Dec. 6. Those who wish to donate can also go to any center across the country and show proof of donation, and everyone will receive a one-month free subscription to B1G+, the conference’s streaming service.
The school credited with donating the most blood — each donation counts for one point — will receive a $1 million donation to advance student or community health.
Brady will be pulling for his Wolverines to win this competition, but, rivalries aside, he knows this is a special way of helping so many in our communities.
"I love that people are trying to do positive things and find really unique ways and strategies to create awareness. Abbott partnering with the Big Ten and really making it a competition, all the students can all participate, and they give back to the school when the team competes and when they win. It’s just very creative. It’s very thoughtful. It’s a fun way to do good things in our communities and just happy to partner with Abbott and the Big Ten to do it."
Robert B. Ford, chariman and CEO of Abbott, added, "The U.S. continues to experience ongoing blood shortages, and we knew as a leader in diagnostics and testing we had to do something powerful to draw in donors. What better way to inspire people to donate than tapping into rivalries between Big Ten schools and offering up a friendly competition. It’s our hope we’ll give the blood supply a significant boost while inspiring a future generation of blood donors."
As the competition gets underway, donations will be tracked live at BigTen.org/Abbott.
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