SC Nebraska News

Hastings’ first responders are once again turning the need for blood donations into a friendly competition.

Hastings Fire and Rescue and Hastings Police Department will be competing in the fifth-annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive on Friday, June 9. 

The 2022 Hastings Competition was won by the Hastings Police Department. 

“I want to thank everyone that supports the Battle of the Badges event,” Police Chief Adam Story said. “The donations are extremely important and save many lives! I love the comradery and teamwork between Hastings Fire and Rescue and the Hastings Police Department.  Even though the Hastings Police Department is the champion of this event, we are all truly winners when it comes to blood donations!”

The competition to secure blood donations for the American Red Cross is scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. Friday, June 9 at the Hastings City Auditorium, 400 N. Hastings Ave. Donors can sign up by using the Red Cross blood donor app or visiting www.redcrossblood.org, search the zip code 68901 for the Battle of the Badges event. 

Once a participant has given blood, they’ll be able to choose whether to support Team Fire or Team Police. Donations will be tallied at the end of the day to determine a winner.

"The Battle of the Badges event is not just an opportunity for friendly competition between local police and firefighters, but an opportunity for us to give back to the community that supports us, and to help people all over the world by doing so,” Fire Chief Brad Starling said. “Hastings Fire and Rescue is excited to participate once again and is looking forward to taking the title back from Hastings Police. Vote #TeamFire!"

Once the Hastings donations are counted, they’ll be compared to Battle of the Badges competitions across the Tri-Cities to announce an overall winner. The 2022 Tri-Cities competition was won by Hastings. 

 Hastings has a goal of 90 units of blood to help maintain the title. 

Original source can be found here.