‘Moving mountains from Heaven’: Kansas City gives the gift of life in honor of ‘Eli the Great’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - People rolled up their sleeves to donate blood in honor of a little boy who died last December.

Community Blood Center hosted a blood drive in memory of 18-month-old Elijah ‘Eli the Great’ Hales. Hales ed away just before Christmas after battling brain tumors and lung infections.

“We are doing this because he left quite a mark on a lot of people,” said Sarah Hales, Eli’s mom. “For us, being able to do this blood drive and see him move mountains from Heaven is powerful.”

Hales said every time he received a blood donation, it would give their family hope. Now, they are trying to give another family that same feeling by holding annual blood drives in his honor.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., people can donate blood at Kirk Family YMCA.

“Christmas is a time of giving, and I know money gets really tight this time of year, but just by doing a blood donation, it’s free,” Hales said. “All you have to do is donate your time, which is really awesome, and the gift you give someone else by giving them hope or a second chance at life is priceless.”

Just one donation can save several lives. People can also use the code ‘ei2i’ to donate in his honor at any other Community Blood Drive center.

“All that really does is for us to see how giving Kansas City is, how wonderful they are, and how great things can happen,” Hales said.

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