The community came together Thursday to honor a former Norwalk police officer fighting multiple myeloma – a type of blood cancer.

A blood drive was held at Port 5 National Association of Naval Veterans in Bridgeport for Mark Edwards.

Edwards was diagnosed with the illness in January 2024 and has received over 30 blood transfusions.

Organizers say because the blood supply remains low, it's important to help Edwards and others in need of blood.

"With all [five of] the blood drives we've done for 2024, it was a total of about 672 lives that we were able to help because one donation can save up to three people's lives. So we have made a significant impact on the community and we'd like to continue that for 2025 and hopefully bring more awareness and more effort to the cause," says Morgan Kelly, co-sponsor of the blood drive.

Click here to sign up to donate blood.