In an effort to have more blood donated at their blood drive this weekend, Milky Moo’s of Andalusia is offering a pint of ice cream for anyone who donates a pint of blood.

This will be the first time the restaurant has held a blood drive at the Andalusia location.

“We have had blood drives at our other locations in Enterprise and Ozark,” Co-owner of Milky Moo’s Jill Campbell said. “We just recognize this as an excellent way to help our community. I know that Lifesouth particularly is local so it really makes a difference and makes us feel like we are helping people in our area.”

Campbell said that there will be a Lifesouth bus parked in front of Milky Moo’s and people who donate blood can come into the store afterward to get their ice cream.

“I don’t know exactly where the bus is going to be parked yet,” Campbell said. “A lot of the time they have a free gift for you as well when you finish donating. After you finish, they will give you a coupon for a pint of ice cream specific for this event and you can exchange it for any flavor of ice cream that you prefer.”

At the other locations, Campbell said that there have been a lot of people that have donated.

“It honestly depends on the exposure of the event,” Campbell said. “Lifesouth does a little advertising on their side and of course we try to push the event as much as possible. We share it on Facebook and attach flyers to to-go orders the day before the event trying to get as much momentum as we can.”

Campbell said that since blood donations are down, this is a perfect way to give back to the community.

“By donating blood, you are saving lives,” Campbell said. “Anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Maybe it will be somebody you love, try to make the choice of donating or not with that in mind.”

The first Pint for a Pint Blood Drive will be on Sat., May 11, from 11 a.m., until 6 p.m., at Milky Moo’s. They will host two other blood drives this year, one on Aug. 10, and Nov. 16.