Miss Kitty’s blood drive yields 95 pints
APPROXIMATELY 285 individuals will benefit from the 95 pints of blood collected at the fourth edition of the Miss Kitty Blood Drive.
The blood drive took place last Friday at itel’s headquarters in St Andrew, in partnership with the company’s 4Ys Foundation, and was powered by Digicel. Khadine “Miss Kitty” Hylton, attorney-at-law and media personality, was pleased with the turnout for her first post-COVID-19 blood drive.
“I’m really happy that my blood drive returned with a bang, and I extend sincere gratitude to all the donors who participated voluntarily and the sponsors that contributed to the event’s success. It’s hard to overstate that we need to develop a stronger culture of donating blood voluntarily in Jamaica, and I’m committed to playing an active role in driving positive behaviour change,” said Miss Kitty.
Michelle Yeo, executive vice-president – people, resources and culture at itel, underscored that public-private partnerships are critical to improving public health and well-being.
“Miss Kitty, our brand ambassador, has commanded attention as a blood donor advocate over the years. Itel felt compelled to support this important initiative as part of the push by the National Blood Transfusion Service to supply a higher volume of blood requested across the island.”
Reshima Kelly Williams, brand marketing manager at Digicel, shared, “As our brand ambassador we were delighted to support Miss Kitty’s passion for healing and saving lives. Each donation was a solid expression of solidarity with her cause, and it demonstrated the importance of working better together for the good of our nation and its people.”
In addition to itel and Digicel, other sponsors included Brunswick, Complete Sourcing, CVM TV, Deaf Can! Coffee, Krispy Kreme, Maggi, Magnificent Chess Foundation, Main Event, Milo, PriceSmart, Tango’s Entertainment, and Wisynco.
The fifth edition of Miss Kitty’s Blood Drive is slated for October this year.
Miss Kitty stated, “We need all hands on deck to ensure no one dies due to a shortage of blood or blood products. This will be my first time hosting my blood drive in Montego Bay. I’m very excited about the possibilities of entering a new space to not only mobilise donors, but to help dispel a lot of the misinformation that turns people away from donating.”