An American Red Cross blood drive will take place Thursday, Feb. 8, at Zahnow Elementary School in Waterloo.

The blood drive will be from 3:30-7:30 p.m.

There is an urgent need for blood in this area. Severe winter weather has had a tremendous impact on blood donations already this year, with more than 150 blood drives forced to cancel causing an estimated 5,500 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected.

This is in addition to seasonal illnesses, such as the flu.

For more information, call 1-800-RED-CROSS.