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Rhode Island Blood Center sets May 2 Narragansett drive to support 8‑year‑old Easton Harvey
Summary
The Rhode Island Blood Center requested community support for a May 2 blood drive at the Clark Center to benefit Easton, an 8‑year‑old Narragansett resident diagnosed with T‑cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia; organizers urged residents to sign up and to encourage colleagues and family to donate.
The Rhode Island Blood Center asked Narragansett residents to support a community blood drive scheduled for Friday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clark Center, to support Easton, the eight‑year‑old son of town employee Joe Harvey, who was diagnosed with T‑cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia while on vacation in February.
Presenter Heather Hughes Robenheimer described Easton’s recent medical course, saying he received multiple transfusions and returned to Rhode Island on March 13 and has since received frequent treatments at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. She said the blood drive is “in his honor” and appealed to town staff and residents to encourage donation. “Blood can only come from us. It cannot be manufactured,” Hughes said.
Practical details and outreach: The center asked the town to publicize the drive, encourage supervisors to mention it in department meetings, and remind potential donors to hydrate and eat beforehand. Hughes said donors can make appointments by phone, scanning a QR code on the flyer, or via the blood center website by entering Narragansett’s ZIP code. The presenter also reviewed common deferral questions — travel, tattoos and piercings, medications — and recommended the center’s medical hotline for donors with concerns.
Why it matters: Hughes noted that local hospitals need about 250 donations per day across the state and that blood components have short shelf lives, so steady, local participation is essential for ongoing cancer care and other transfusion needs.
Ending: Council members thanked the presenter and expressed support; the town endorsed sharing the drive’s details with staff and the public and offered thoughts and prayers for the Harvey family.
