They said y'aorta donate, and 1000 people did!

This afternoon, Rochester's Rachel Boyle made the 1000th blood donation on behalf of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

When the Customer Service Officer rolled up her sleeve at the Bendigo Donor Centre, she helped reach the bank's donation goal for 2014 and cemented its place as the number one donor for a medium size business.

Ms Boyle is just one of hundreds of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank staff who have got behind the club:red Corporate Challenge, an initiative of the Red Cross Blood Service encouraging Australian businesses to donate blood and save lives.

In the Bank's first year of the competition Red Cross set it set an ambitious target of 1000 donations, which it has now reached with more than a month to spare and a potential 3000 lives saved.

Ms Boyle, a Customer Service Officer at Rochester/Elmore/Lockington Community Bank^® branches said she was inspired to donate as a way of giving back to her community.

"It's great to know that just by taking 30 minutes out of my day I can potentially save three lives, it really is so easy," she said.

"Helping the Bank reach its donation target is just an added bonus, and a milestone I'm proud to be a part of."

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Executive Community Engagement Robert Musgrove congratulated all the donors on their mammoth achievement.

"The people across our network understand the meaning of community, and how giving up our time (and even our blood) can help others around us in need," Mr Musgrove said.

"We've reached our target for this year, but we're certainly not going to be stopping there.

"We want to continue to spread the blood donation message and get more Australian businesses on board club:red, so we can have an even bigger challenge in 2015."

To find out more about club:red and how you can donate, visit www.donateblood.com.au