Twenty years ago, Mahogany Thomas launched the Battle of the Badges campaign with the American Red Cross in Southern California, and now, what was originally a twelve drive, two week event has expanded into 150 drives a year.

Battle of the Badges is a competition in which badge carrying agencies each try to recruit the most blood donors. Its slogan, “saving lives on and off the job,” honors the first responders who give blood outside of work.

Mahogany’s first blood donation actually occurred through a Battle of the Badges competition in her own workplace. One of her colleagues had asked her to participate, and, after Mahogany donated, she realized how important the invitation had been. “I would never have thought to donate blood had I not been asked,” she reflected. Since then, in Mahogany’s work with the Red Cross, that story has become motivation. “I’ve made it my mission to ask as many people as possible!”

When Mahogany started off the Southern California campaign, she mainly faced difficulties in logistics. That first year, she relied on early 2000s technology to reach every badge carrying agency in the Greater Los Angeles Area. She initially tried sending them snail mail but eventually made in person visits to substations, headquarters and training academies. From that extra effort, she met contacts who, twenty years later, still contribute to the drives.

Battle of the Badges has become so impactful that Mahogany and the Red Cross have delivered a press conference about it in LA and have spoken about it at the White House. This success currently allows Mahogany the time to focus on her own Federal agency drives and also to later plan for her succession. As Mahogany looks ahead, she hopes that other campaign leaders will similarly pass this work onto the next generation.

No matter our future technology, she cites people-power as the driving force behind Battle of the Badges. She explained, “Something that I have learned… is that if you truly care about a cause and commit to it, you become virtually unstoppable. And when you surround yourself with people that care about the cause as much as you do, the possibilities are limitless.” Mahogany expressed appreciation for her team, her campaign partners and the first responders donating out of love for their community.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.