Public Invited to SMSC Blood Drive in Prior Lake
Prior Lake, Minn. – The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is hosting a summer blood drive, open to the public, on Tuesday, August 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Dakotah! Sport and Fitness.
According to Memorial Blood Centers, the SMSC’s blood drive partner, someone in the local community needs blood every two seconds. All blood types are needed.
To donate blood, a donor must be healthy and at least 17 years old (16-year-olds can donate with written parental consent). A donor cannot have donated blood in the last 56 days. For those 19 years and older, one must also weigh at least 110 pounds.
Donors will go through a brief screening process as part of the approval, including a mini-physical and a health history questionnaire. The questionnaire can be answered ahead of time on the date of the donation at mbc.org/idonate. The entire process only takes 45 minutes.
To schedule an appointment, call SMSC Wellness Coordinator Chris Blum at 952-233-2926. Appointments are recommended, but walk-ins are accepted at Dakotah! Sport and Fitness, located at 2100 Trail of Dreams in Prior Lake.
“The SMSC has a strong tradition of supporting blood drives,” said Joanna Bryant, SMSC wellness administrator. “A donation of blood means a few minutes to donors, but a lifetime for somebody else.”
Since 1998, the SMSC has held 66 blood drives with Memorial Blood Centers, collecting 3,742 total units of blood. In 2014, the SMSC collected 266 units, ranking in the top 25 in blood drive sponsor donations. The next blood drive is scheduled for December 8, 2015.
About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe located southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul. With a focus on being a good neighbor, good steward of the earth, and good employer, the SMSC is committed to charitable donations, community partnerships, a healthy environment, and a strong economy. Together the SMSC and the SMSC Gaming Enterprise (Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino) are the largest employer in Scott County. Having donated more than $325 million since opening its Gaming Enterprise in the 1990s, as well as providing more than $500 million in economic development loans to other tribes, the SMSC is the largest philanthropic benefactor for Indian Country nationally and one of the largest charitable givers in Minnesota.