Heartland Blood Center celebrates new St. Charles location

To celebrate the opening of their new draw center in St. Charles, Heartland Blood Center will be raffling two Vespa scooters, a Wii game system and an iPod Nano to blood donors who donate at any of their 16 centers or blood drives from Thursday through Sept. 30.

Heartland's new St. Charles Center is at 3851 Main St. and will be open every Monday through Thursday and on Saturday's for blood donations. Blood donors who donate between Thursday through Sept. 2 will also receive an $11 Oberweis gift card, compliments of Heartland Blood Centers.

"With the Labor Day weekend approaching and blood donations typically decreasing around holidays, we'd like to thank those dedicated blood donors who take just an hour of their time around the holiday to think of those in need of lifesaving blood by donating the gift of life", said Ann McKanna, Heartland's vice president of marketing and new business development. "We are so excited about the opening of our St. Charles Center just before Labor Day and wanted to celebrate it by doing something we've never done before - entering our donors in a raffle to win a Vespa Scooter, Wii system or iPod."

To maintain an adequate blood supply, Heartland Blood Centers, an independent blood center serving 33 hospitals in a 12-county region in Illinois and Indiana, urges all area residents to donate the "gift of life" and donate blood this August at local blood drives and Heartland Centers. Heartland must collect nearly 500 units each day to meet the transfusion demands of those 33 local hospitals. For information, call (800) 7-TO GIVE or visit www.heartlandbc.org.

To be a blood donor, individuals must be at least 17 years old or 16 with written parental permission; weigh at least 110 pounds; be symptom free of cold, flu and allergies; and be in general good health. Donors who have traveled outside the United States within the past 12 months should contact Heartland at (800) 7TO-GIVE to determine eligibility.

Here is a list of some of the upcoming local drives. For a complete list, visit www.heartlandbc.org.

Aurora: Thursday from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Village Baptist Church, 515 S. Frontenac St. Each donor will receive an $11 Oberweis gift card. To schedule an appointment, call Bob at (630) 851-4120. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required.

Aurora: Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at Phoenix Club, 515 Phoenix Court; Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required.

Aurora: Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Iglesia Evangelica Luterana San Pablo, 555 E. Benton St. Each donor will receive a gift card for one free quart of Oberweis Ice Cream. Call (630) 820-3450 ext. 13 to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required.

Aurora: Sept. 3 from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at Saint Rita of Cascia, 770 W. Old Indian Trail; To schedule an appointment, call the Parish Center at (630) 892-5918. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required. Each donor will be entered into Heartland's September raffle. Two lucky winners this month will receive a Vespa scooter, one will receive a Wii system and one will receive a iPod Nano.

Batavia: Sept. 8 from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Batavia United Methodist Church, 8 N. Batavia Ave. Each donor will receive a Heartland BBQ grill tool set and apron. To schedule an appointment, call Judy Larson at (630) 879-3439. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required. Each donor will be entered into Heartland's September raffle. Two lucky winners this month will receive a Vespa scooter, one will receive a Wii system and one will receive a iPod Nano.

Batavia: Sept. 20 from 7:30 a.m. to noon at Holy Cross Church, 2300 W. Main St. Each donor will receive a Heartland BBQ tool set and apron. To schedule an appointment, call Jeff at (630) 420-5160. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo I.D. is required. Each donor will be entered into Heartland's September raffle. 2 lucky September winners will receive a Vespa Scooter, 1 will receive a Wii system and 1 will receive an iPod Nano.

DeKalb: Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. at Knights of Columbus Council #717, 1336 E. Lincoln Hwy. Call Jon at (815) 739-2339 to schedule your donation. All donors will receive two coupons each good for a quart of Ollies Frozen Custard.

DeKalb: Tuesday from 2:30 to 7 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 511 Russell Road. To make your appointment to donate, call norm at (815) 756-1113. All donors will receive 2 coupons each good for a quart of Ollie's frozen Custard. In addition, all donors donating in September will be entered in a raffle to win one of two Vespa Scooters an iPod Nano or a Nintendo Wii

Geneva: Friday from noon to 4 p.m. at Delnor Community Hospital, 300 Randall Road. Each donor will receive a Heartland Grill Tool Set. To schedule an appointment, contact Amber at (630) 208-3948 or amber.beu@delnor.com. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required.

North Aurora: Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Everest College, 150 S. Lincolnway; Each donor will receive an $11 Oberweis gift card. To schedule an appointment, call (630) 896-2140. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required.

St. Charles: Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon at Hosanna Lutheran Church, 36W925 Red Gate Road; Each donor will receive an $11 Oberweis Gift Card. To schedule an appointment, call Susan at (847) 551-2819. Walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID is required.

Sugar Grove: Sept. 8 from 2:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Sugar Grove Fire Department, 25 S. Municipal Drive; Each donor will receive a gift card for one free quart of Oberweis Ice Cream. To schedule an appointment, call Joy Rubo at (630) 466-7190 or Michelle Budzen at (630) 740-0570. Appointments appreciated; Walk-ins welcome. Photo ID is required. Each donor will be entered into Heartland's September raffle. Two lucky winners this month will receive a Vespa scooter, one will receive a Wii system and one will receive a iPod Nano.

Winfield: Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Central DuPage Hospital, 25 N. Winfield Road; All donors receive a BBQ set and apron. Bring a friend.