Memorial Blood Centers and Donaldson Company Celebrate 40-year Partnership

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- July marks a major milestone for local nonprofit Memorial Blood Centers and Minnesota-based Donaldson Company (NYSE;DCI): a 40-year partnership that has promoted the cause of blood donation and helped save and sustain tens of thousands of lives in our local community.

"As one of Minnesota's oldest and largest nonprofit community-based blood centers, Memorial Blood Centers has been extremely fortunate to have such a community-oriented partner like Donaldson Company," Donald C. Berglund, Memorial Blood Centers CEO said. "The company and its leadership have consistently demonstrated what it means to be an outstanding community citizen. Donaldson's CEO Bill Cook, in particular, is a long-time supporter of blood donations and is a former member of Memorial Blood Centers' Board of Directors. He truly models a commitment to volunteerism that inspires employees to give the gift of life. And over the years, Donaldson Company has continually increased its engagement with us, making a lasting impact on our organization's ability to fulfill its mission of saving lives through blood donations."

Growing steadily since 1972, when Donaldson sponsored its very first employee blood drive, the Company's Bloomington Campus now hosts 12 blood drives with Memorial Blood Centers throughout the year. Annually the Donaldson Company ranks among Memorial Blood Centers' Top 10 Outstanding Blood Drive Sponsors, and in 2003 was awarded the William L. Hall Jr. Award in recognition of their dedicated commitment to increase the number of blood donors and, as a result, increase the number of lives saved.

"In all that we do at our Company, we believe that we are part of the fabric of the Twin Cities community," Donaldson's CEO Bill Cook said. "In addition to providing value to our Shareholders, quality filtration products to our Customers, and opportunities to our over 13,000 employees around the world, we are committed to strengthening the communities of which we are a part. One very important way that we do that in the Twin Cities is through our sustained partnership with such a valuable community resource like Memorial Blood Centers."

With creativity and fun, long-time Donaldson Company blood drive coordinator Wendy Murphy uses incentive programs and friendly competitions to engage more employees in blood donations. A great example is awarding a 'Jeans Day' sticker to every employee who donates blood or helps in the canteen, which entitles them to wear jeans on a given Friday. According to Wendy Murphy, "this is a really simple and easy-to-implement incentive that works for us. Employees value the extra bonus, in addition to knowing that they are helping to save lives."

In 2010, Wendy Murphy was recognized with Memorial Blood Centers' 56 Day Award for her dedication to keeping her co-workers on schedule to donate blood every 56 days (the required waiting period between donations): Thursday drives are followed by Monday drives, with subsequent drives scheduled 56 days apart for both. She collaborates with CEO Bill Cook to promote and encourage employees to sign up and participate in the blood drives. This fall Wendy will be coordinating her 100^th blood drive with Memorial Blood Centers.

Bill Cook added, "Special thanks and congratulations to Wendy who, in addition to her normal duties, invests many hours coordinating our blood drives. As a result of her efforts, everyone at Donaldson has an opportunity to make a tremendous difference in the lives of others and to give back to our local community that has given so much to us." 

Since 2007, Donaldson Company and Memorial Blood Centers have also partnered to sponsor a team of avid cycling enthusiasts—including CEOs Bill Cook and Don Berglund—who cycle the 150 miles with the over 200 Team Donaldson riders to support the MS Society in the annual Bike MS150. In 2011 and 2012, Donaldson Company also generously provided valuable support and sponsorship of Memorial Blood Centers What's Your Type? annual fundraising benefit. 

Special 40-year Donaldson Company Blood Drive celebrations were held on July 19th and July 23rd which included T-shirts, event-branded water bottles, and all blood donors were entered into the Memorial Blood Centers drawing to win a Polaris ATV.  Nearly 200 generous Donaldson employees enjoyed the festivities and donated a total of 174 units of life-saving blood—a new record for Donaldson's two-day blood drives.

About Memorial Blood Centers

Memorial Blood Centers has been saving lives for over 60 years as an independent nonprofit supplying life-saving blood to area hospitals and other partners throughout the U.S. Operating 11 donor centers and conducting hundreds of blood drives each month, Memorial Blood Centers also provides comprehensive testing and expert technical services as a national leader in transfusion medicine. For more information, call 888-GIVE-BLD or visit MBC.org.

About Donaldson Company

Donaldson is a leading worldwide provider of filtration systems that improve people's lives, enhance our customers' equipment performance, and protect our environment. We are a technology-driven company committed to satisfying our customers' needs for filtration solutions through innovative research and development, application expertise, and global presence. Our approximately 13,300 employees contribute to the company's success by supporting our customers at our more than 100 sales, manufacturing, and distribution locations around the world. Additional information is available at www.donaldson.com.

SOURCE Memorial Blood Centers