It takes a very good reason for vampires (and their fans) to brave the harsh light of day. An Alabama library found the perfect thing to coax them out into the hot summer sun. Gadsden Public Library’s Read and Bleed event challenged teens to donate money, time, and—most importantly—blood. Library director Amanda Buckner Jackson explains how Read and Bleed came about: “With all the destruction the State of Alabama and our area had faced in April, we wanted to do our part to help with the recovery efforts and to keep the need for assistance fresh in the minds of our community. The Red Cross has been such an integral part of the relief efforts, that partnering with them seemed like the most logical decision.” After some inspired brainstorming, Read and Bleed fell into place.
Gadsden Public Library reached out to an old friend who knows a little something about blood. Vampire Kisses author Ellen Schreiber had visited Gadsden for the library’s fantastic Geekfest. When asked to return, Ellen jumped at the chance to reconnect with Gadsden’s enthusiastic teens. She flew down from Ohio just for Read and Bleed. Teens came from as far away as Huntsville to see Ellen and give blood. A Red Cross van collected blood donations while Ellen signed books and read to the gathered fans. Ellen says she loved the goths who showed up in monster boots and corsets. But Ellen admits, “We were so hot we had to go inside for the rest of event. We vampires were melting in the sun!”
Ellen couldn’t give blood because she was getting on a plane right after the event, (and we’d hate to see her pass out at 30,000 feet). But she did donate her entire speaking fee to the American Red Cross. Ellen wasn’t alone in her generosity. The summer book club raised $1000 for the Red Cross. Amanda Buckner Jackson reports that Read and Bleed had close to 100 participants through fundraising, reading, donating blood, and helping to publicize the blood drive. Not only did the blood drive collect donations at a critical time, it also encouraged Gadsden’s teens to be more civic minded. As Amanda says, “We wanted them to see that just because you are young doesn’t mean you can’t be the change you want to see in your community.” And that warms the heart more than a pint of AB negative.
~ Tony
