Jessica McKearney honored as ADRP Blood Drive Partner of the Year

Published by Kirby Winn on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 in News Releases

Jessica McKearney, of Eldridge, Iowa, was recognized as the Association of Donor Relations Professionals Blood Drive Partner of the Year today at the ADRP national conference in Minneapolis. McKearney was nominated for the award by ImpactLife for her work as a member of blood center's Quad Cities Associate Board and as a Blood Drive Coordinator who has recruited more than 2000 donors to blood drives over the last seven years. 

Scroll down for photos from today's awards ceremony and to read the nomination ImpactLife submitted for the ADRP awards program and to learn about the Hudson Strong Foundation established by Jessica and her husband, Kyle, to support pediatric cancer patients and their families.

Award nomination for Jessica McKearney: ADRP Blood Drive Partner of the Year

Jessica McKearney is a nurse practitioner, nonprofit leader, and blood donation advocate who has firsthand understanding of the lifesaving difference blood transfusions can make for pediatric cancer patients. Through the experience of their son’s diagnosis and treatment for B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Jessica and her husband, Kyle, have become some of the ImpactLife’s most effective community advocates and blood drive sponsors while they have also established a foundation to help support families with children in treatment for cancer.

Her effort on behalf of ImpactLife include being a volunteer Blood Drive Coordinator for 16 blood drives that have resulted in more than 2000 donations since 2020. Jessica regularly speaks at community events, in classrooms, and with news media as a tireless advocate for donation and in support of pediatric cancer research.

Jessica’s professional background and personal experience have combined to make her an extremely effective advocate for ImpactLife. Inspired by her mother’s work in nursing, Jessica began her journey in healthcare by becoming a Registered Nurse in 2010. While working in the Emergency Room, she continued her education and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Driven by a commitment to expand her clinical knowledge and patient impact, she completed her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2015, specializing in Family Practice. 

Now in her tenth year as a Nurse Practitioner, Jessica has accumulated a diverse range of experience across orthopedics, convenient care, and family medicine. Jessica is deeply committed to patient advocacy, health education, and improving outcomes through the advancement of community health initiatives. 

Jessica’s professional path took a deeply personal turn when her son, Hudson, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019. (Learn about Hudson’s diagnosis and treatment here: www.hudsonstrongfoundation.org/about.) His treatment began immediately in March of 2019 and continued through May of 2022 and included numerous red blood cell and platelet transfusions. Along the way, the McKearneys gained a great appreciation for blood donation and importance of the importance of financial, emotional, and logistical support for families affected by pediatric cancer.

Jessica began coordinating blood drives her home community of Eldridge, Iowa, in 2020 and those efforts continue with the annual Hudson’s Heroes Blood Drive. She was among the first to join the ImpactLife Associate Board when it was established in 2020 and she continues to provide leadership for this group of young professionals and community leaders.

In 2022, Jessica and Kyle established the Hudson Strong Foundation to raise funds for pediatric cancer research and for care packages given to pediatric cancer patients and their families, often containing toys and games for the kids, and including restaurant and gas gift cards to help with practical necessities during a family’s cancer journey. The foundation believes that every patient, parent, and sibling is included in their fight and deserves a bit of light during their darkest times. To date, the Hudson Strong Foundation has raised more than $85,000 to establish the Hudson Strong Family Fund at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

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Contact:

ALEX BURKAMPER
Community Development Advocate
aburkamper@impactlife.org
mobile 563-639-1757