KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Luis Pecina is working to become an Eagle Scout. But to reach his goal, he needs to have a project under his belt.
While he and his dad were listening to NPR, he heard about the need for blood donations and decided to do a blood drive as his project.
He decided to have it at the Westport Roanoke Community Center, and the only date the center had left was Aug. 18 — the date of his late brother's birthday.
The Pecina family lost Uziel Pecina Jr. in 2016 to suicide. At the time of his death, he had recently enlisted as a U.S. Army Reserve 12D Combat Engineer.
His mom describes him as a man who always wanted to help others in any way he could, not wanting any recognition for it. The day of the blood drive would have been Uziel's 24th birthday.
"Something I would tell a parent to kind of look out for one is perfectionism, just trying to be the best in everything," said Adriana Pecina, Uziel's mom. "It's impossible to be the best in everything, right? Somehow he accomplished it, but God knows what toll it was taking on him."
His brother hopes people donating remember his brother and always know they are loved.
"Well, I just want them to know to speak to others about your actual like mental health because, I mean honestly, for me it was kind of hard with his death and everything," Luis said. "I just want them to know to not be afraid to talk to others, to talk to your parents, to talk to somebody about the way that you're feeling for some reason."
The event runs from 12-5 p.m. at Westport Roanoke Community Center, 3601 Roanoke Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
To sign up, click here.
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