SMSC Supports Bridging’s Mission By Washing Blankets, Donating Linens
Prior Lake, Minnesota – Each Christmas generous donors give gently used blankets to the local charitable organization Bridging. For the past ten years, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Laundry Facility has quietly washed those blankets to prepare them for distribution to local families.
Each year, about 5,000 blankets are donated to Bridging through the Bring a Blanket drive held each year in conjunction with Subway Restaurants. Of those, hundreds are usually slightly soiled and in need of washing before they can be distributed. The soiled blankets are delivered to the SMSC Laundry Facility in February and March where staff wash, dry, and hand-fold them at no cost.
“It is part of our mission to provide quality, gently used furniture and household goods to those in need,” said David Jensen, operations and logistics manager at Bridging. “Our partnership with SMSC allows us to make this happen. By receiving SMSC’s donated laundering services, Bridging has been able to distribute thousands of clean blankets to families in need over the years.”
In addition to laundering the blankets, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and its Gaming Enterprise (Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino) has worked with Bridging for years, providing thousands of items: linens such as bed spreads, curtains, blankets, comforters, mattress pads, sheets, and pillow cases; furniture such as tables, chairs, bed frames, couches, lamps, mattresses, and box springs; and other items like shower curtains, ironing boards, pillows, and dishware. Several times a year Bridging drops off large loads of linens which the SMSC Laundry also washes at no charge.
Bridging’s mission is to provide families and individuals transitioning out of homelessness and poverty with a gift of quality furniture and household goods to stabilize and improve lives while effectively using community resources. Through a network of more than 125 social service agencies, eligible clients are referred to Bridging to pick out needed furniture and household goods to transform their house into a home.
Bridging, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the greater Twin Cities, is the largest furniture bank in North America. Providing furniture and household goods to families and individuals transitioning out of homelessness and poverty, Bridging gives hope–and for many–a leap toward financial stability for the first time. With locations in Bloomington and Roseville, Bridging is driven by volunteers and donations of furniture and household goods from the community. Since 1987, Bridging has furnished more than 60,000 homes, and every year, reduces landfill space by nearly 10 million pounds. To learn more and get involved visit www.bridging.org.
The SMSC Laundry washes 3.6 million pounds of laundry each year for several SMSC enterprises, including Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Little Six Casino, Dakotah! Sport and Fitness, and more. Each year they also launder more than 575,000 uniforms for employees at the SMSC Gaming Enterprise. Employing 51 full-time employees, since opening in August of 2006, the Laundry has processed more than 19,950,000 pounds of linen and cleaned more than 3,400,00 garments.
About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, a federally recognized Indian Tribe in Minnesota, is the owner and operator of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Little Six Casino, Mazopiya, The Meadows at Mystic Lake, and other enterprises on a reservation south of the Twin Cities. The SMSC utilizes its financial resources from gaming and non-gaming enterprises to pay for the internal infrastructure of the Tribe, including but not limited to roads, water and sewer systems, emergency services, and essential services to its members in education, health, and well-being.
A tribal charitable giving program which comes from a cultural and social tradition to assist those in need has given away more than $258.2 million to Indian Tribes, charitable organizations, and schools since 1996. Through the Mdewakanton LIFE Program, the SMSC has donated 776 Automated External Defibrillators to tribes, schools, police and fire departments, and other organizations with 21 lives saved due to their use.
The SMSC has also made more than $523 million in loans mostly to other tribes for economic and infrastructure development projects. Since 1996 the SMSC paid more than $7.6 million for shared local road construction and an additional $16.7 million for road projects on the reservation. The SMSC has also paid $14.4 million to local governments for services and another $6.4 million for other projects. Total construction spending by the SMSC since 1990 is more than $758.7 million.