2025 blood drive ambassador honors her sister’s and mother’s memory
Vermont Business Magazine The holiday season is a time for celebrating old traditions and making new ones. This year, add giving blood to your holiday activities! Your gift can bring hope and healing to patients in need. The 2025 Gift of Life Marathon Blood Drive will offer four days of giving – with hundreds of donation appointments available. This year, the drive aims to collect 421 pints of blood.
“My family knows firsthand how precious blood donation truly is. No one ever expects their loved one to need a transfusion. But when it happens, those bags of blood and platelets become lifelines,” said Shanti Gallo-McKenna, the Gift of Life Marathon 2025 blood drive ambassador.
This year’s drive is in memory of Shanti’s sister, Dawn Carlson, of Rutland, who was a Red Cross supporter who organized blood drives in their mother’s honor. Dawn and Shanti’s mom, Yvonne Daley, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer that required regular transfusions. In August 2022, at the age of 77, Yvonne lost her battle with cancer. Then in February 2025, Dawn was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. Sadly, she died in May 2025 at the age of 54. Shanti is now following in her sister’s footsteps, working with the Red Cross to honor Dawn's memory and giving spirit through blood donation as the 2025 Gift of Life Marathon blood drive ambassador. She’s hoping to inspire more Vermonters to give the gift of life and time.
“My mother, Yvonne, and my sister, Dawn, both needed transfusions during their cancer battles. Those blood donations gave us something priceless — more time to love her, to share stories, to hold her hand, and to make memories with her husband Mike Carlson and their children, MacKenzie and Zachary. Please donate blood. It means more than you’ll ever know,” she said.
November and December can be a challenge for many donors trying to juggle regular donation appointments with packed schedules full of seasonal activities and holiday planning. Donors of all blood types − especially those with types O negative, O positive and B negative blood − are urged to make an appointment to donate.
This December, during National Month of Giving, you can give a meaningful gift to hospital patients by donating
lifesaving blood. Of course, donating blood is better together and doubles the impact. Pair up with loved ones and give the gift of life together. In just an hour, donors could be the lifesaving change for people in need of critical medical care.
2025 Gift of Life Marathon Blood Drive
Dec. 9, 2025
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Rutland High School
22 Stratton Rd., Rutland, VT 05701
Dec. 10, 2025
11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Vermont State University Castleton
119 Alumni Drive (Campus Center), Castleton, VT 05735
Dec. 18, 2025 | 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 19, 2025 | 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Elks Lodge #345
44-46 Pleasant St., Rutland, VT 05701
To make an appointment to donate, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767), visit RedCrossBlood.org or download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App. Use Sponsor Code: GOLM2025
Donors who come to give Dec. 8-18, 2025, will receive a $15 Amazon Gift Card by email. Additionally, those who come to give Dec. 19, 2025-Jan. 4, 2026, will receive an exclusive Red Cross long-sleeved T-shirt, while supplies last. See RedCrossBlood.org/Gifts for details.
The Gift of Life Marathon started in 2003. In 2013, it grew into one of the largest blood drives in American history by collecting 2,350 pints in a single day. This annual community drive is supported by Green Mountain Power in partnership with 98.1 WJJR.
How to donate blood
Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass® to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, before arriving at the blood drive. To get started, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
RUTLAND, VT, Nov. 24, 2025 — American Red Cross
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