TEMECULA, Calif. — (Dec. 7, 2016) – Pechanga Resort & Casino and the San Diego Blood Bank are excited to announce that 138 lives were saved on Veterans Day at the Temecula resort-casino. The two organizations held a Veterans Day blood drive on Friday, November 11, inviting Pechanga guests, the public and resort team members to give the gift of blood, and ultimately, life.

A total of 46 pints of blood were collected from 57 miracle donors. For every one pint, up to three lives can be saved. Blood collected from the event went to help patients at three Southern California VA hospitals – Long Beach, San Diego and Los Angeles – in addition to other recipients around the southland. As an added bonus, each donor was provided a card to indicate their blood donation in honor of a veteran and were able to write them “thank you” messages. Pechanga Resort & Casino and the San Diego Blood Bank sent the inscribed notes to veterans through Operation Gratitude, a non-profit who sends care packages to veterans and troops overseas.

“We salute our Veterans and active duty armed forces and give thanks for their sacrifice to keep our country safe and strong,” says David Wellis, CEO of the San Diego Blood Bank.“  “In collaboration with Pechanga Resort and Casino, each person who donates blood on Veterans Day may participate in Operation Gratitude – a simple way of saying thank you to those who are and who have bravely volunteered to protect our country.”

Pechanga has long upheld a tradition of providing critical resources for those in need and hosts five-to-six blood drives every year.

“We deeply appreciate the work our service members and Veterans do to protect and serve our country,” says Patrick Murphy, President of the Pechanga Development Corporation. “They stand ready to sacrifice everything every day. To take 30 minutes of our day to give them something that may save a troop’s life someday, it’s something small, yet powerful, and really, it’s the right thing to do for them.”