Baldwin EMC hosted its 13th annual Power of Giving drive on Thursday, Nov. 29, and the event’s organizers are calling it a great success.

LifeSouth Community Blood Center was on site early Thursday morning and collected a total of 74 donations by the end of the day. Included in those donations were seven double red donations and seven platelet donations. Additionally, several boxes of non-perishable food were collected and donated to a local food bank for families in need.

In its third year, the children’s coat drive portion of the campaign resulted in the collection of hundreds of coats and jackets, which will be distributed to needy children in the community through Catholic Social Services and Ecumenical Ministries.

Mark Ingram, Baldwin EMC’s vice president of corporate services and public relations, says the accomplishments of the Power of Giving drive is one of the most significant ways Baldwin EMC shows its commitment to the community, but without donors, it would not have been successful.

“Every time a person makes a blood donation, he or she is saving up to three lives in our very own community,” Ingram said. “All of the donations we accepted through our blood drive, our food drive and our children’s coat drive, were made by local people to assist local people. This event was about neighbors helping neighbors in a positive way. The generosity we witnessed through the Power of Giving drive is what this holiday season is all about.”