The World Blood Drive is an international event organized by Star Wars fans and non-profit Star Wars costumer clubs. The international event was conceived by Ryder Windham, an avid blood donor and the author of numerous Star Wars books, who has helped organize many family-friendly blood drives with the 501st New England Garrison, Alderaan Base, Firaxan Clan, and the Rhode Island Blood Center.
In March 2014, Windham wrote a post on his Facebook page, asking Star Wars fans to contact their local blood centers and participate in the World Blood Drive. He scheduled the event for the second Saturday of June for three reasons: the beginning of summer can be a challenging time for blood centers to attract donors; members of the Star Wars costumer clubs are generally more available on weekends; many blood centers are closed on Sundays. Also, the second Saturday of June 2014 happened to coincide with World Blood Donor Day, an annual event established by the World Health Organization, and which is always celebrated on June 14.
Members of the 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, Mandalorian Mercs, and other Star Wars clubs readily agreed to be part of the World Blood Drive. Because of scheduling conflicts, several clubs were unable to participate on June 14, but managed to help out with blood drives on other dates in June. Several clubs held blood drives at multiple locations (e.g., Star Wars fans in Brazil boasted blood drives at six different locations on June 14), for a total of 45 World Blood Drive events in 23 countries, including: Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Guatemala, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the United States of America, and Venezuela.
The next World Blood Drive is scheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2015. If you want to participate, or hope to help set up a blood drive with a Star Wars costumer club in your area on another date, click here.