JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A two-day blood drive is happening soon in Northeast Florida at a popular restaurant chain.
You can make a difference all while this specific donation event is paying tribute to one woman.
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Lilly Kishore’s mother had no shortage of words to describe her daughter.
“She was really ambitious, but super sweet,” said Malia Kishore about Lilly. “I don’t know how she managed that. She was ambitious as a student. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. She went for it and got it.”
Lilly played lacrosse in at Skidmore College in New York. She had her sights on pursuing a career in psychology.
Lilly never made it to graduate school at Columbia University.
She died in May 2021 from sudden cardiac arrest. Lilly was just 21 years old.
“She was able to let life lead her to new decisions,” Malia said. “Just a really giving kid. We were lucky to have her for 21 years.”
Lilly was a consistent blood donor starting at 16 years old after losing a friend to leukemia.
The Kishores have cousins who own a Culver’s franchise in Florida.
Since Lilly died, they started having annual blood drives in her honor.
Those same blood drives have made their way up to northeast Florida.
OneBlood is hosting blood drives at 8 local Culver’s locations on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11.
Times and Locations:
Culver’s Blood Drives April 10th
2PM-7PM
4768 Hodges Boulevard, Jacksonville
11AM-4PM
7923 Parramore Road, Jacksonville
2PM-7PM
2620 Stratton Boulevard, St. Augustine
Culver’s Blood Drives April 11th
11AM-4PM
7818 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville
11AM-4PM
1767 Blanding Boulevard, Middleburg
11AM-4PM
101 Monument Road, Jacksonville
11AM-4PM
3433 US Highway 1, St. Augustine
11AM-4PM
463731 State Road 200, Yulee
Pat Michaels, who is OneBlood’s director of media in public relations, says donations of any blood type are welcome.
“The need for blood donations never stops,” Michaels said. “We have people who go to trauma units, emergency rooms, routine surgeries, cancer treatment that have to happen every single day. That is why we operate seven days a week to make sure the hospital patients have the blood that they need. We never know when we may need it or a member of our own family [may] need a blood transfusion.”
This way of helping people is also helping this mother who is also navigating through her own grief.
“To lose someone so young and who had such great ambitions for the world, and not just herself, and to have people remember that and give of themselves [means a lot], Malia said. ”People who donate blood, that is a hard thing to do."
Those planning to donate blood at this drive will receive a Culver’s coupon, a $20 eGift card, a OneBlood umbrella and a wellness checkup including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, iron count and cholesterol screening.