Blood Drive with Wilderness Union

WU is partnering with Canadian Blood Services to save lives and beat the post-holiday blues! Join us to hang out with your WU team, donate blood if you wish (or give moral support), and enjoy a celebratory meal. Blood donation is essential to help people survive serious injuries. It also saves lives in many other situations, including for infants, people undergoing surgeries, and people with cancer or many other illnesses. In Canada, we rely entirely on volunteer blood donors. There is a pressing need for more donors, especially young people. WU is in a great position to help! A typical single donation can save up to 3 lives, and just like on WU trips, we can multiply our impact by working together.

For this social, we’ll meet and catch up after the workday. We’ll then attend the blood donation centre together for about an hour. If you have not donated blood before, don’t worry – the pros at the donation centre will walk you through it, and there are unlimited free snacks! Afterwards, a group dinner is in the cards.

Not everyone is able to donate blood, or wants to donate blood, and that’s totally OK! To keep donors healthy, and the blood supply safe to use, there are certain rules about who may donate. The rules are different in different places, and they were recently updated in Canada to let more people give blood. You can check your eligibility here: https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abcs-eligibility. All WU members will be welcome to attend the social, whether or not you donate.

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More information on the process of donating blood is found here (you will also get this information on the day): https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/donating-blood/what-you-must-know-donate-blood

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Joining our team is EASY and can be done through an online donor account on blood.ca . Simply sign up by clicking on your team link: https://myaccount.blood.ca/en/join-team/ WILD0124533  

1. Tap on the little red “Partners” icon in the bottom right corner on the app, or on the landing page of your online account.  

2. Predictive text will allow you to start typing: Wilderness Union

3. Join the team and say “yes” when it asks whether your information can be shared with the team champion. 

4. Book your appointment with your team under “Team Appointments” directly in the team portal.

16:30 - 19:30: Meet at 2 Bloor Street E, Yonge & Bloor (Hudson’s Bay) donor Centre, Toronto, ON

19:30 - 21:30: Meal at Hemingways, 142 Cumberland St, Toronto, ON M5R 1A8

Government-issued ID

Blood donor card, if you have one.

A list of the names of any medications that you take.

Recommended: check if you are eligible to donate beforehand:https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abcs-eligibility.

Optional: you can download the GiveBlood app from Canadian Blood Services

Please drink lots of water and eat a healthy meal during the day.

Wilderness Union will not be providing food and drink afterwards - be aware donating blood may effect the the bodies ability to drink alcohol so please be careful if you choose to drink.

Overall, blood donation is very safe. Canadian Blood Services takes many precautions to ensure donor safety – more information is here https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/donating-blood/donorwellness-and-safety. We’ll highlight here that, to avoid symptoms like dizziness or nausea on the day of donating, you should prepare by getting a good sleep, eating substantial, healthy meals, and drinking lots of water

We like to share some of the indigenous background of the areas we visit because these territories have rich histories that are easy to overlook. Indigenous communities have a connection to and respect for the land that has largely been lost since European settlement. As we strive to form a deeper connection with the land, we have much to learn from these communities. You can use the Native Land map to learn more about these areas.

Toronto has a particularly long and varied indigenous history, groups who maintain connections to the land include:

1. The Anishinaabe: This includes the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Algonquin peoples. They have lived in the region for centuries and continue to have a presence in the area.
2. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy: This includes the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations. They have historical connections to the land around Toronto.
3. The Huron-Wendat: They were once the primary inhabitants of the Toronto area before being displaced by European colonization and other Indigenous groups. The Huron-Wendat nation now resides in Wendake, Quebec, but maintains a historical connection to Toronto.
4. The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation: This is a Mississauga Ojibwe First Nation located near Brantford, Ontario. They have treaty rights and historical connections to the land that is now the city of Toronto.
5. The Métis: The Métis people, who are of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry, also have connections to the region.