Mall is also a place of giving

Black Friday is a time for shopping, but as certain Westroads visitors demonstrated this week, that doesn’t have to be all its about.

In addition to bargains and long checkout lines, Westroads visitors Friday found several opportunities to donate, as well.

The Marine Reserves’ Toys for Tots Drive had two collection boxes in front of Von Maur. The Red Cross held a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Salvation Army brought its Angel Tree into the mall. And the Special Olympics opened its gift-wrapping booth on the mall’s first floor.

As of 10:30 a.m., 11 people had stopped to give blood, according to Red Cross representatives at the mall.

“We didn’t really know what to anticipate today, because it’s such a big shopping day,” said Amber Evans of the Red Cross. “I think this is kind of a new idea for us this year.”

At the Special Olympics Nebraska gift-wrapping booth, traffic was slow, said Rick Childree, east region director. “It’ll get more into the season before we actually start wrapping gifts and stuff.”

But it’s good to be visible on a big shopping day, to let people know the service is available, he said.

At the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree, located in the mall near Dick’s Sporting Goods, volunteer Janet Wolfe said she was pleased with the amount of interest the tree was attracting. Shoppers select ornament tags that specify the age and sex of a child and offers a list of ideas, and the return with an appropriate toy.

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