FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:	Tessa Lehto
	Communications Specialist
	Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
	Phone: (952) 496-6160
	E-Mail: tessa.lehto@shakopeedakota.org

Monday, November 07, 2011

Prior Lake, MN – A skydiving fundraiser, protection of natural landscapes, diabetes treatment and prevention, and health care are some of the projects funded by $175,000 in grants to seven charitable organizations local to the Twin Cities by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Children’s Foundation, the fundraising arm for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, will receive a grant for $50,000 for a “No Needless Pain” initiative in their Emergency Room to alleviate pain in children who visit the hospital. Children’s believes that every child deserves a pain-free and comfortable healing experience. A bold, innovative initiative is in place to develop an international model of care committed to “no needless pain.” Children’s is committed to family-centered compassionate care and innovative symptom management of pediatric patients. This initiative involves the use of nitrous oxide to alleviate pain during procedures in the ER.

The Minnesota Land Trust received the final installment of a pledge for $50,000 for its work with conservation easements and other land-protection tools to preserve natural and scenic land throughout the state. Since their first project in 1993, the organization has completed 404 conservation projects that have protected 38,000 acres of land in 50 counties and 817,000 feet of shoreline on some 200 lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands. These projects provide benefits to the public by conserving important plant and animal habitats, protecting water quality, and preserving scenic landscapes that contribute to a community’s sense of place. The Minnesota Land Trust preserves Minnesota’s natural and scenic heritage through public and private partnerships working with landowners, communities, and conservation partners. The total SMSC gift to the Minnesota Land Trust was $150,000 over three years.

The SMSC donated $25,000 to the American Diabetes Association for education to target diabetes treatment and prevention in Native Americans in Minnesota and for research. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Together these diseases represent some of the most critical health concerns among American Indians. ADA is the leading organization working to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. They fund research to prevent, cure, and manage diabetes; deliver services to hundreds of communities; provide objective and credible information; and give voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes.

St. Mary’s Health Clinicin Shakopee, Minnesota, run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet of the St. Paul Province, received a donation of $25,000 from the SMSC for free health care for low-income patients without insurance or medical assistance. The Shakopee Clinic serves patients two days a week with patient visits to the clinic, lab tests, x-rays, diagnostic tests, and most medications. St. Mary’s also provides services at seven other volunteer clinic locations and 11 Park Nicollet locations.

Specialty referrals are also available without charge. For a nearly two decades St. Mary’s Health Clinics, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph, has provided free primary health care to the uninsured in the seven county metropolitan area of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and their surrounding suburbs. In that time more than 72,500 visits have been recorded at the St. Mary’s Health Clinics. Last year the Shakopee clinic provided more than 890 free patient visits. The clinic serves 249 diabetic patients with nearly 1,000 medications shared in a year.

A project to raise funds for Parkinson’s Foundation of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and the National Parkinson Foundation (Miami, Florida) was awarded a $10,000 grant. Prior Lake resident Kevin Burkart will attempt 300 skydives in one day to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease on June 19, 2012. The unique fundraiser will take place at Skydive Twin Cities in Baldwin, Wisconsin. Burkart did a similar effort in 2010 in which he completed 150 jumps in one day and raised $75,000 to fight Parkinson’s disease. (For more info go to www.perfectjumps.com.)

A grant for $10,000 went to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Internationalof Bloomington, Minnesota, for their Imagination Ball Gala to raise funds for diabetes research and patient support. JDRFI is committed to finding a cure for the disease that afflicts more than 22 million men, women, and children, killing one American every three minutes.

A grant for $5,000 went to the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. NOFAS is the leading voice and resource of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) community. Founded in 1990, NOFAS is the only international non-profit organization committed solely to FASD primary prevention, advocacy, and support.

About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

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 Tribal members in education, health, and welfare. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has a charitable giving program which comes from a cultural and social tradition to assist those in need.

Over the past 15 years, the SMSC has donated more than $215.7 million to Indian Tribes, charitable organizations, schools, and Native American organizations. The SMSC has also made more than $396 million in loans to other tribes for economic development projects. Since 1996 the SMSC paid more than $7.5 million for shared local road construction projects and an additional $16.7 million for road projects on the reservation. The SMSC has also paid $12.7 million to local governments for services and another $5 million for other projects.

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, Playworks, Dakotah! Sport and Fitness, The Meadows at Mystic Lake, Shakopee Dakota Convenience Stores, and other enterprises on a reservation south of the Twin Cities.

This press release and other information may be downloaded from the SMSC website at www.shakopeedakota.org.

-End-

shakopee mdewakanton