Almost six years ago, at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Church of Corpus Christi in Roseville saw a need. Thousands of blood drives were canceled after churches, schools, and businesses closed to the public, but the need for blood was still urgent. Corpus Christi had been hosting blood drives a couple times a year for decades, but in 2020 they decided to open their doors to the Red Cross on a more regular basis.

“Community partners stepping up to help make up some of that volume, like Corpus Christi did, were super important,” said Tim Mercure, a Roseville resident who works in donor recruitment for the Red Cross.

Since then, Corpus Christi has hosted 50 blood drives and collected 2,132 units of blood. And it’s all thanks to committed volunteers, spearheaded by Roseville resident Mary Ellen Brown.

Mary Ellen, 86, and her husband Don, 90, raised four children in Roseville who all attended the school at Corpus Christi.

She could never donate blood herself, due to not meeting weight requirements, Don Brown said, so she volunteered instead.

“She volunteered for everything. She’s always volunteered for everything,” Brown said. As the parish grew smaller over the years, Mary Ellen continued to coordinate the blood drives.

"She was always insistent that we keep the drives going," Brown said. In the past few years, Corpus Christi has hosted blood drives nearly monthly.

The Browns have lived in Falcon Heights and Roseville since 1970 and have been active in several Catholic parishes in the area, attending Mass daily until only very recently. Mary Ellen was a charge nurse at Presbyterian Homes for over twenty years. She worked part time as a receptionist at St. Rose of Lima in Roseville until she fell ill in August 2025.

“She loved doing it. The main reason she loved it is all the people coming in. She knows far more people in the area than I would ever dream of knowing,” Brown said.

The 50^th blood drive since 2020 at Corpus Christi took place on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, but Mary Ellen could not be at her usual post to pass out snacks and chat with blood donors. She is in her final days in hospice care at Our Lady of Peace.

The day before the blood drive, her husband said the family all came to say their goodbyes. But she rallied that afternoon.

“Maybe she was hanging on for this drive. Just to make sure that I didn’t screw it up,” Don said with a grin. If she was awake that night, Don expected she would ask, “how many units did we get?”

The final total? Thirty-four units of blood from 32 donors. (Some people do Power Red Donations, which count as 2 units.)

Mary Ellen was the heart behind the blood drives at Corpus Christi, but Don and other church volunteers are stepping in to carry on her legacy.

Greg Graf, head of maintenance at Church of Corpus Christi, has been involved with the blood drives since March 2020 too. He sets the room up, takes it all down, and serves as a liaison between the church and the Red Cross to coordinate the schedule. He went to school at Corpus Christi with the Brown children and said Mary Ellen is “the nicest lady.”

“This whole thing with her is just devastating," Graf said. "That’s part of life. You get older and unfortunately ... everything comes to an end."

Graf and another volunteer Jack Buchal were there on Friday to greet and check in donors. Buchal has also volunteered many times at his union. Neither of them could donate blood themselves anymore due to medical conditions, but said volunteering was a good way to contribute.

"Greg and Jack are irreplaceable as far as I'm concerned," Don said.

Carol Johnson volunteers at the blood drives regularly too, recruited by Mary Ellen to the cause.

“It’s not that hard,” Johnson said with a chuckle. “I hand out food. I talk to people. I watch to see if someone’s going to keel over. That doesn’t happen very often.”

A Multigenerational Community Legacy

Don and Mary Ellen Brown’s granddaughter Molly Boxrud was there on Friday to donate blood. She's given blood occasionally over the years since high school, but said she was there at the 50^th blood drive at Corpus Christi in honor of her grandmother.

“This is her passion. You feel so useless when someone you love is so sick. So let’s go do the thing that she set up to do. She gave us this opportunity to donate blood today,” Boxrud said. Her sister planned to come later that day too.

“It’s been a family affair,” Boxrud said.

When her sister was very young, she was sick and needed to receive blood transfusions. This inspired many of her family members to donate blood on a regular basis.

“It’s a great opportunity, if it’s something you’re able to do. It takes an hour. You get snacks. You have the ability to save lives every eight weeks," Boxrud said. "If you’re able bodied and able to do it, you have this opportunity to help somebody else, why not?”

Virginia Bender, a Roseville resident and a member of Corpus Christi, donated blood on Friday too. She has now donated eleven gallons of blood in her lifetime.

“I had a father and two brothers who had Leukemia. So I do it primarily for them. All three of them have passed away. I have two friends who have Leukemia,” Bender said. “It doesn’t cost me anything and it saves lives. That’s how I look at it. If I can do it, why not do it? To help somebody else. Is that not what we’re suppose to do? Help others?”

First-time blood donor Eleanor Brezinka, age 21, was there with her mother Heidi Brezinka, a longtime blood donor—both Roseville residents.

“My mom has always pushed me to donate and I’ve always been scared because needles aren’t my best friend. But I thought, why not? You could see what blood type you are. So that’s why I did it. So now I can say I’ve done it,” Eleanor said while waiting for her turn to donate blood.

Her mom found out her hemoglobin was too low to donate that day, but she plans to come back. She likes donating at Corpus Christi because of how convenient it is in Roseville.

“My mom was a legacy donor. So was my father-in-law. They’ve donated several gallons over their lives. I’m getting there. I’m in the several gallon range. I’m hoping to pass on donating what you can,” Heidi Brezinka said. Her husband donated a kidney to his sister too, she said.

Heidi is super proud of her daughter coming to donate blood for the first time.

“Hopefully all goes well with her and we have a new legacy,” Heidi said.

An Ongoing Need

According to Tim Mercure at the Red Cross, “January is National Blood Donor Month. As the new year begins, the Red Cross celebrates compassionate blood and platelet donors whose year-round generosity—and willingness to act in critical moments—help keep the blood supply strong.”

Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood or platelets. Blood is needed for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries.

“The Red Cross blood supply locally and across the nation is under pressure following a busy holiday season when winter weather and packed schedules have made it even tougher to ensure hospitals have the blood products needed for critical care. Without immediate action, doctors may have to make difficult decisions about which patients receive blood transfusions and who will need to wait. Donors with types O, A negative and B negative blood are especially needed now,” Mercure told the Roseville Reader.

The Red Cross regularly partners with groups like Corpus Christi to recruit blood donors and provide a safe and comfortable place for community members to donate. Currently, the Red Cross is working with many organizations in Roseville including, the Roseville Skating Center, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, the Ramsey County Library, New Life Presbyterian Church (now merged with Falcon Heights UCC), Cedarholm Golf Course, Hawkins, Inc., Abbott RDC, University of Northwestern, Rosetown American Legion Post 542, and others.

To find a blood drive and learn more about donating, visit the Red Cross website. Click here to learn about hosting a blood drive.

The Church of Corpus Christi plans to continue hosting blood drives. The next blood drive at Corpus Christi is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11.