HELEN - Back in 2004 when Sandra Jackson died of complications from leukemia, her family and friends in Helen thought a blood drive would be a good way to give back to the community that had given so much to her.<br />
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On Sunday, Sept. 28, her friends and her family will carry on that tradition with the 10th annual blood drive on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, at Cool River Tubing in Helen. The blood drive will be hosted by LifeSouth Community Blood Centers.<br />
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Her friend Kay Jackson said Sandra and her husband Royal lived in Cleveland and operated the Helen Ace Hardware.<br />
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"In White County she was pretty much known throughout the county," she said, adding that she first met Sandra in 1981, and they quickly became best friends, even taking vacations together while Royal stayed home and minded the store.<br />
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In 2000 Sandra developed colon cancer, but radiation and chemotherapy knocked it into remission. But in October of 2004 she was feeling ill and tests revealed she had leukemia. Just three weeks later she died. Because she had needed blood, a blood drive was seen as a fitting way to honor her. But it's a blood drive that's different from most.<br />
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"That day we go and stay and visit all day with the people who give blood," Kay Jackson said. "Many of them come back every year."<br />
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Over those years LifeSouth has collected more than 222 units of blood at he event and estimates that as many as 700 lives have been saved by the effort.<br />
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Donors must be at least 17, or 16 with parental permission, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in good health. Donors get a T-shirt and a complimentary cholesterol screening.<br />
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As for Kay, Sandra had one special gift waiting for her friend. Kay had been single since 1990, and Sandra would always kid her, "I'm going to find you a good man." In 2006 Kay married Royal Jackson. She now works in the pharmacy next to the hardware store. <br />
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"She was closer to me than a sister in many ways," Kay said.
