Where else can volunteers gather to stop by, see some old friends, and get some snacks?
And on Monday, Dec. 11, some donor pins?
The United Blood Services drive at Pine River Church in Bayfield.
One of the key volunteers for those life-saving blood drives is Doug Hellman, a member of the church who has been organizing the drives there since 2003.
"It's like a family get-together," said a donor on Monday.
In 2017, Bayfield's drives at the church garnered 135 units of blood.
Donors received pins ranging from "first time donor" to those who had given a half-gallon, gallon, or as many as eight gallons of blood.
Considering it takes eight donations to make a gallon of blood, and individuals are encouraged to donate three times per year, that's a lot of years of donations.
"It's the right thing to do," said Robbie Davis, who came by the church Monday to make his donation. "There's a lot of people who might need it, especially right around the holidays." Davis said he would hate for a family member not to have blood available if needed, so he's a regular donor.
About 100 units of blood from the Four Corners was sent to Las Vegas in November after the shootings there, and 1,000 units from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah went to Houston after Hurricane Harvey.
It takes three days to get blood clean and ready after a donation, so while people often donate after a disaster, it's the folks who donate two or three times a year who provide the steady supply needed around the country, explained Kristan Velarde, a donor recruitment representative for the Four Corners for United Blood Services.
"We rely on our regular donors to make sure it's there," she said, noting that each donation saves three lives. Nationwide, a blood donation is needed every three seconds.
Blood donations aren't used just for accidents, but also patients with cancer and blood disorders.
Hellman greets almost all of the donors by name, asks them to sign up, then guides them over to the snack table.
"We're having a party!" he said, dishing out ice cream and Christmas-themed cupcakes on Monday. Many are members of the church, while others are just long-time donors Hellman has come to know over the years.
The requirements to donate are pretty simple. Donors older than 23 need to weigh at least 110 pounds.
Teens who are 16 or 17 can donate with their parent's permission and must meet weight requirements, as well. UBS recently lifted a restriction that banned people with recent tattoos from donating, as long as it was in a licensed facility.
There are some medications and travel destinations that will prevent someone from donating blood.
High school students actually are the top donors nationwide, Velarde said. The need for blood donors does rise this time of year for the holidays, and also during the summer travel season.
"Bayfield is one of our biggest donor communities," Velarde noted.
In 2016, Mercy Regional Medical Center used 888 units of blood, she added.
