Rhode Island Blood Center, founded in 1979 and located in Providence, R.I., is a nonprofit community center that provides residents of the state with access to blood supply. The center is also involved in educating the community on the need to donate blood. It has relationships with organizations in the business, civic, religious and community sectors that sponsor blood donation drives. The blood center also has a relationship with Rhode Island's media outlets. Besides sponsoring blood drives, the local news media helps promote the need for blood. It has more than 350 employees, and is involved in education, the National Marrow Donor Program, DNA testing and various patient treatment programs at local hospitals. It is also involved in a variety of local and national research programs.