Dierks Bentley Finds Light in Giving Blood for Survivors of Las Vegas Shooting
Dierks Bentley joined the Americans all across the country who are donating blood to help survivors of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, and he says turning sorrow into action is helping him find his way out of the emotional hole he's been in.
"First smile in two days thanks to being around other donors and great people," Bentley writes to accompany an Instagram photo of the now-bearded singer smiling while getting hooked up to donate.
The Red Cross has been soliciting extra blood donations to help out in the wake of the mass shooting that took place at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday (Oct. 1), which left at least 58 people dead and more than 500 other country music fans wounded in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
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"I haven’t really been able to function at all since the shooting," Bentley admits, writing that he's been experiencing "such deep sorrow. sadness. heavy and dark. My relationship with country music fans, as well as my band and my crew’s relationship with them, is something we all cherish so deeply."
Bentley was not on the bill at the festival, but he just as well could have been, along with virtually any other major act in country music. He says he hasn't been able to stop thinking about the fans who were wounded or killed during what should have been a fun evening of music.
"Some of those friendships have been forged for well over a decade," he reflects, adding, "my heart breaks over and over again for all those fans in Las Vegas and their families."
Appointments for a blood drive in Nashville on Wednesday have all filled up, according to the Tennessean, and KTNV in Las Vegas reports that two Red Cross locations there have reached full capacity. But those who want to participate and give blood can still help ensure a steady blood supply by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting the American Red Cross website or calling 1-800-RED CROSS.
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