Mystics host April 22 Blood Drive/Wellness Check at ‘Bama Yacht Club

Mystics host April 22 Blood Drive/Wellness Check at ‘Bama Yacht Club
Come by land or sea to enjoy festivities during Operation Re-Connect fundraiser
Patrons can arrive by land or sea to the 2nd Annual Blood Drive & Wellness Check for Operation Re-Connect on April 22 at the Flora-Bama Yacht Club Beach. hours are 11 a.m. ‘til 5 p.m.
Hosted by The Mystics of Pleasure, the event site is directly on Ole River at the Al/Fl. State Line. All donors will receive a heavy duty umbrella and a picnic lunch.
Operation Re-Connect will have an info both and display the brand new custom jeep currently being raffled off for the non-profit (see sidebar). Additionally, the Mystics will set up donation boxes.
The wellness checkup will include blood pressure, pulse, cholesterol and temperature tests, along with checks for iron levels. Blood donors can make an appointment online at oneblooddonor. org (use sponsor code 30085) or just drop in. Event co-sponsors are the Flora-Bama Yacht Club and One Blood.
Kelly Kleinschmidt, One Blood’s coordinator for the event, said 24 units were collected last year. “That is a great day,’’ she said. “There is always the hope that we will get even more and we are going to try.
“But we have blood drives every day, and very rarely do we get to pull up to a blood drop and look at the water. So this is a great day for us,’’ she added.
Operation Re-Connect is a non-profit established by Gulf Shores resident Ryan Charrier to assist military personnel in reducing the disconnect that comes from multiple-month deployments.
Ryan, a senior airman now in the Air Force Reserve, saw first hand that balancing military responsibilities along with daily family situations can be tough for both deployed military personnel and the families they leave behind.
To help the transition, Operation ReConnect provides the gift of time to service-members and their families by providing complimentary accommodations along the beaches of Pleasure Island and Perdido Key.
“The Mystics are proud to help Ryan any way we can,’’ said Gene Carden of the Mystics, an Orange Beach based Mardi Gras krewe. “What he’s doing in helping our men and women of the armed forces reconnect here on our beautiful beaches is truly remarkable. I urge anyone who has a condo here that would like to help a military family contact Ryan Charrier.’’
For more event info, call 205-807-4697.