Ahead of the new season, Inverness Shinty Club were keen to help save lives by donating blood at the city’s donor centre.
Accompanied by shinty club mascot and local celebrity, Billy Bught, players, parents, and members of the club community came together to visit Inverness Blood Donor Centre.
As the centre tries to increase the numbers of people donating blood on a regular basis, it is keen to encourage other teams, and donors – even if they have not been along for a while – to give blood.
‘Don’t put it off’
“Giving blood is such a great thing to do but unless it affects you directly, it’s easy to keep putting it off,” said 32-year-old Arran McMaster, player and chairman of the Inverness Shinty Club charity.
He continued: “Not everyone is able to donate but everyone can help by encouraging others to come along and play their part in making a difference.”
“Shinty is more than a game, it’s an ancient sport that remains at the heart of our local communities.
“We’ve shown exactly that, by all coming together to support the blood donor centre which is another organisation right at the heart of our community.
“I’d say to any other group or club thinking of getting involved to just get on and do it. It’s so easy to organise. You don’t need to get a massive group together.
“If you just take the first steps to organise few people, then those people might just encourage a few others and so on. It really just takes a few people to make a massive difference.”
To arrange a group booking the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service can be contacted online or on 0345 90 90 999 to find out more.
Inverness Donor Centre is open weekly on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
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