Hi. My name is Brian Avery and I am the commander of American Legion Post 209 in Forestville, Conn.

I am very proud to say that my Post 209 has been working very diligently with the American Red Cross over the last 12 months, and we have collected 802 units of blood.

No other American Legion post or no other veterans organization has ever taken on this challenge before [that we know of]. During the challenging times of the past year we decided to step up and do something that's never been done before with the American Red Cross, because there was a dire need of blood due to COVID-19 and a blood shortage that still continues today.

My post proudly took on this challenge and decided to be part of the solution. It's been over 12 months since we started this program, and the blood drives continue today and we're not stopping any time soon. We actively volunteer at all these blood drives and have built an amazing relationship with the workers from the American Red Cross.

Below is an article that was published about these blood drives in the Bristol Press: http://www.bristolpress.com/article/view/article_id/392822/headline/fore...

We are very excited about getting this information out to the rest of The American Legion, and are challenging other Legion post to step up and work with the American Red Cross. A slogan that I always say is, let's be an everyday hero and today's the day you save someone's life.