Give a pint, get a pint. That’s been the motto at Hillman Beer every time they’ve hosted a community blood drive with The Blood Connection (TBC) at their brewery in Biltmore Village.

The family biz (owned by brothers Brad + Greig Hillman, and Greig's wife Brandi Hillman) has been working with TBC for more than a year, hosting a total of 9 blood drives; one every 2-3 months. They say turnout is great because many locals have identified Hillman Beer as their designated place to do their good deed of giving blood – while also grabbing lunch + a free beer. (The Blood Connection gives each donor a Hillman Beer gift card ranging from $10-20 for food, beer or merch. Win-win.)

Each drive averages 25-30 viable donors (with more showing up, but not qualifying to donate). With the average donor giving 1 pint of blood, one drive can generate 30+ pints of blood, which go to help hospital patients at Mission Health + ten other WNC hospital partners.

Brandi Hillman says that hosting a blood drive as a business is simple (and that The Blood Connection is organized + super easy to work with). Her pro-tips, if your org is considering hosting one:

Set dates in advance.
Create Facebook events for every date (like Hillman Beer does)
Post on social media the day before + morning-of to remind folks (example here)
Put up the flyers TBC provides weeks in advance (Hillman Beer posts them in spots like the bathrooms to catch peoples’ eyes while they’re waiting)

Interested in hosting a drive (or a series of drives, like Hillman Beer)? Click here or on the button below. Ⓟ