A local family is again asking the community to give the ultimate birthday gift – life.

At 4 months old, Mark Beverly Jr. died due to a blood clot in his aortic valve.

His grandmother, Tina Elmore, said when her daughter, Brandy, was faced with what would have been his first birthday, a few years ago, it was overwhelming.

“My daughter came to me and said she should be doing a birthday party and since she couldn’t, we should do the blood drive,” she said.

That was four years ago.

Now the family needs help making its annual Mark Beverly Jr. blood drive a success. At present, only one person is signed up for the 17-person blood drive.

“You never know when you might need it,” Elmore said. “And I don’t like needles either, but it’s a way of showing life and love. It’s also a good time to socialize.”

Last year, Elmore said they didn’t meet their goal, but they had the opportunity to minister to a nurse, who had just lost here infant.

“And who knows what God has in store this year,” she said.

Elmore said she is taking appointments, which are in 15-minute intervals, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Wed., July 25, and lasting until 4:30 p.m., at Green Tree Christian Fellowship.

“If they make an appointment, they don’t have to wait that long,” she said.

To sign up, call 427-0023.

Other drives include:

• July 27: the Rainer Twins Memorial drive, LBW Community College – Opp from 11:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

• July 28: Andalusia Kiwanis Building (Covington Sportsman’s Expo) from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

• July 29: Andalusia’s First Baptist Church from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.

• July 31: St. Mary Episcopal Church from 1:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, located at 1307 East Three Notch St., will host an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Tues., July 31, from 1:30 – 5:30 p.m. in the parish hall.

The need for donated blood is especially urgent at this time.  Please consider sharing your gift of good health with patients in need of this life-saving gift.  Blood cannot be manufactured; it is gift that can only be given from one person to another.

All of those who register to give blood and come to the Blood Drive at St. Mary’s on July 31st will be entered in a drawing to win four tickets to the church’s Bayou Feast, which will be held on Aug. 24.

For more information or to make a blood donation appointment, please call the St. Mary’s office at 222-2487.