Every year Tiger Wheel & Tyre teams up with the SA National Blood Service (SANBS) to campaign for South Africans to voluntarily donate their blood, rather than wait around for attractive, young pale-faced vampires to take it against their will in the twilight hours.

The nationwide ‘Be A Hero’ campaign runs from 1-31 October 2012 and is an effort to shore up the SANBS’s blood stocks prior to the advent of the festive season, when these supplies are in high demand.

Says Joe du Plooy, marketing executive of Tiger Wheel & Tyre: “You may never have the chance to rescue someone from a burning building or save a person from drowning, but by simply donating your blood you can save a life and be a hero.”

To encourage acts of heroism in the month of October, Tiger Wheel & Tyre is running a competition where donors can sms their donor number and stand a chance to win a R5000, R3000 or R1000 gift card, valid at any of the company’s stores, nationwide. If, after donating, you feel slightly and momentarily off balance, consider the trade-off worth it, since every donor will also receive a Free Wheel Balancing Voucher in appreciation of his or her effort.

Adds du Plooy: “Some 89,556 heroes donated blood during the 2011 ‘Be a Hero’ campaign. That’s a staggering figure and we are grateful to all who played their part in achieving that. Yet, we want to do better in 2012 and ask allSouth Africans who are between 16 and 65 years of age, weigh more than 50kgs, lead a sexually safe lifestyle and are otherwise healthy, to eat a good meal before donating, then roll up their sleeves and help us reach 100,000+ donors this year.”

In addition to their nationwide efforts, SANBS and Tiger Wheel & Tyre willhost a booster blood drive weekend from 27-28 October, in Lenasia, Gauteng, at the Signet Terrace Shopping Centre. As always, this annual event promises to be a fun-filled day for the entire family with free food, entertainment, giveaways and more.

For more information on where to donate blood and ‘Be A Hero’ this October, visit the Tiger Wheel & Tyre website at www.twt.to. Alternatively, you can go to the SANBS website at www.sanbs.org.za where you’ll find a complete list of fixed donor sites as well as the locations and times of the mobile blood drives.