Our hearts go out to long time Powerbar athlete Brian Boyle and his family. The Boyle family is facing a very challenging time right now with their son, Liam, needing multiple open heart surgeries in August 2019 when he was born and again in January 2020. In the future, Liam will need a series of more open heart surgeries and other related medical procedures. His surgeries are palliative, not cures.

We have created this SleevesUp campaign to support Brian and because Liam received Red Cross blood products during his open heart operations. This virtual blood drive is very meaningful to Liam’s dad Brian because he was in a near fatal car accident when he was 18 years old and he also received 36 blood transfusions and 13 plasma treatments from the Red Cross. These blood products saved Brian’s life on multiple occasions during the 14 operations he underwent, and now they are playing a critical role in the heart surgeries that his son underwent.

It’s incredibly heartwarming to see the lifesaving role that blood products have played in their survival and recovery.

As a blood donation advocate for the past 16 years, Brian has dedicated his life to helping raise awareness on the true importance of blood donation. From the past to the present – he’s seen firsthand that blood donations are truly lifesaving and life giving.

This SleevesUp is a dedication to Brian’s son Liam and to celebrate his blood donors and everyone who has been following their journey.

The campaign goal is to reach 50 blood donation pledges. We chose 50 as the goal because we will be aligning this virtual blood drive with an upcoming 50K ultramarathon (31 miles) that Brian is participating in and he will write down the name of each person who pledges on his race number to carry with him throughout the event.

Please join us in supporting this virtual blood drive and pledge to donate blood. By giving just a little bit of your time, you can help give somebody in need the chance at a lifetime.