Local organizations, and corporations participating in Canadian Blood Services' Partners for Life program are helping to reach Canada's annual blood donation targets.
PARTNERS FOR LIFE
James Weber knows the value of a smart investment. A project manager with RBC Wealth Management, he develops strategies to help individuals manage their assets and increase their net worth. He also believes that when it comes to targets, investments and wealth, the dollar is not the only currency.
Mr. Weber is a blood donation “champion” within RBC, a man who has donated blood 122 times and who’s on a mission to rally his colleagues to make a similar highreturn investment. “My task is to raise awareness among several thousand RBC employees in downtown Toronto about the opportunity to donate blood and the impact they can make,” he says. “For every unit donated, you help up to three people. It’s the right thing to do.”
RBC employees have been supporting the blood system for over 17 years. Today, RBC is a member of the Partners for Life (PFL) program, in which
organizations partner with Canadian Blood Services and pledge to reach annual blood donation targets. RBC employees in downtown Toronto have a donation goal of 750 units of blood in 2008.
With the support of employees in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, the total RBC pledge for the year is 1,155 units.
RBC is also taking part in Canadian Blood Services' PFL Corporate Challenge, recently launched in the heart of the financial district. Toronto corporations are being challenged to donate 2,000 units of blood in May and June to help meet the demand for blood in the summer months.
“The Corporate Challenge is great because it instils that sense of competition,” says Mr. Weber. “And once you get financial institutions competing against each other, there’s no stopping them.”
Nationally, the PFL program is a key donor recruitment initiative for Canadian Blood Services. Close to 1,350 businesses, government departments and agencies, schools, church congregations and community groups have signed up across Canada. They’re pledging to donate 123,000 units of blood this fiscal year, enough to save the lives of almost 400,000 recipients. In return, these organizations see a boost in staff morale and in corporate reputation.
GoodLife Fitness, Canada’s largest group of fitness clubs, joined the PFL program in October 2007. The company’s blood champion is Sharon Whiteside, regional marketer, who works at the company’s home office in London, Ontario.
Ms. Whiteside, a long-time blood donor herself, decided that recruiting corporate support for blood donation would be an ideal “Fairy Godmother Project,” a community-building initiative originated by Oprah Winfrey.
“We are in the business of changing people’s lives, and hopefully saving some lives, by promoting health, strength and fitness,” says Ms. Whiteside.
“It just makes sense, as a company, to be supporting blood donation, a life-saving act that is simple to do and makes such a big difference.”
GoodLife Fitness is starting with a conservative goal for its first year (25 units), with plans to increase the target in future years. For now, most of the promotion is focused on the more than 300 GoodLife employees in London. However, the company’s 6,000 associates across Canada are also learning about PFL, with information on the program recently included on all pay stubs countrywide.
The PFL program has a particularly strong contingent on Canada’s West Coast. The B.C. and Yukon region of Canadian Blood Services has 850 members for the current year. Last year, PFL accounted for 28 per cent of the total annual collection for the region – twice the national average.
“Partners for Life is a great program to supplement a company’s existing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives,” says Ed Yee, director of Donor and Clinic Services, B.C. and Yukon Region. “Corporations can’t donate financially to every worthy cause.
This partnership allows them to execute CSR through the energy and commitment of their employees.”
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