These local rivals couldn鈥檛 wait for school sports to resume so they found a new way to get competitive and with it are helping Canadians in need.
Four friends at two 91原创 high schools are organizing a blood drive to inspire more youth to become regular blood donors.
Grade 12 students Mya Ellis and Cassie Renaud from 91原创 Secondary and Stefanie Robb and Kate Straforelli from Brookswood Secondary schools are hosting a blood drive on Dec. 17 at the Church in the Valley.
鈥淎t the beginning of the year I would usually go volunteer at the hospital, but since that program isn鈥檛 running right now because of COVID, I wanted to find a way I could still give back to the community,鈥� 17-year-old Mya explained .
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It was Mya鈥檚 mom, Lisa Ellis, vice-principal at Brookswood Secondary, who suggested the teen get some friends together to organize a blood drive, but first the group needed to experience giving blood before they could encourage others to do the same.
鈥淢e and my friends went to see what it was like,鈥� Mya said
The group donated blood for the first time on Nov. 21 and have since been encouraging others to do the same.
鈥淚 thought the needle was going to hurt, but it didn鈥檛 even hurt鈥�. It鈥檚 so calm and so easy to do,鈥� Mya recalled.
In fact, the group has turned the cause into a competition between both schools.
In the first of what they hope will be many drives hosted during the school-year, the teens are keeping track of how many donors are giving blood on Dec. 17 on behalf of each school.
鈥淲e made it a competition between the two schools [to see] who can get the most donors,鈥� Mya said.
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The schools were given unique Partners for Life (PFL) numbers from Canadian Blood Services so those donating can provide either number to help the schools keep track of the number of donors.
The PFL from 91原创 Secondary is LANG0091491 and for Brookswood Secondary is BROO0091522.
鈥淢ya asked me which school I鈥檒l be donating for but I鈥檓 not saying,鈥� said Lisa, 鈥淲hat I will say is I鈥檓 proud of her and the kids at my school for taking this on.鈥�
As of Thursday, there were 12 donors registered to give blood at Church in the Valley on Dec. 17 on behalf of Brookswood Secondary, and 16 donors on behalf of 91原创 Secondary, according to Mya.
And she wants to remind the public that Canada Blood Services offers appointments year-round and to donate whenever convenient.
Canadian Blood Services is calling on all eligible blood donors to respond to the immediate need to fill more than 15,000 open appointments across Canada over the holidays by Dec. 31.
鈥淣ot all connections can be virtual during COVID-19. We鈥檙e grateful to donors and frontline workers who have helped maintain an adequate level of blood products for patients since the onset of the pandemic. But the demand for blood never stops, even over the holidays,鈥� said Rick Prinzen, Canadian Blood Services chief supply chain officer and vice-president of donor relations.
Donated blood lasts only 42 days but platelets that are commonly used to treat cancer patients have a short expiry of seven days, according to the organization.
Donor centres will be open on Boxing Day and New Year鈥檚 Day, in addition to regularly scheduled operating hours.
For more information or to see availability of appointments visit
joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
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