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KIND Snacks and Canadian Blood Services Celebrate the Kindest Canadians

November 10, 2020 Off By BusinessWire

TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With just 4% of eligible donors sustaining our nation’s supply of blood and blood products, a handful of extraordinary donors, the Kindest Canadians, are performing one of the kindest acts on an ongoing basis.

The need for blood is constant, as half of all Canadians will either need blood or know someone who will need blood to survive, and donated blood only lasts 42 days. With many donation events canceled due to COVID-19, and 17,000 units of blood needed every week, the time to give is now, as there is an immediate need for new and returning donors to fill every appointment available in Canada. Similarly, the need for Canadians to join the stem cell registry continues to grow as fewer than 25 per cent of patients find a match within their own family, making a large database essential to save lives.

KIND^® Snacks and Canadian Blood Services are once again driving change in support of World Kindness Day, November 13^th, by encouraging Canadians to show their kindness by donating blood or joining the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry, just like the Kindest Canadians.

The Kindest Canadians are individuals from across Canada that have joined Canada’s Lifeline and have repeatedly performed the ultimate kind act, supporting our nation’s blood and/or stem cell supply.

Quinn Bleakley from Stoney Creek, ON understands firsthand the importance of donating blood and organs after she donated a kidney to her father in 2018. Following complications, both Quinn and her dad required multiple blood transfusions, made possible by donated blood. Two years later, Quinn and her dad are thriving, and Quinn now donates blood regularly, saying, “it is such a warm feeling to know that my blood donations could save multiple lives.”

Allen Veale from Charlottetown, PEI has donated an incredible 1,000 times, impacting a countless number of lives. In recent years, Allen has seen firsthand the impact of his donation, with his infant granddaughter requiring open-heart surgery to survive. “It is such a simple act and the impact is immeasurable, I am so proud to do my part.”

Mackenzie Curran is a 22-year-old leukemia survivor who is now living a healthy life, thanks to an unrelated donor stem cell transplant she received at the age of 16. Since her lifesaving procedure, Mackenzie has been an advocate for the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry, encouraging young people to sign up. (Read more…) “It is really incredible to know that someone signed up because they heard me speak and to know they could possibly save somebody’s life, just like mine was saved.”

Robbie Faraday, a 22-year-old from Toronto was inspired by a classmate to join the stem cell registry, knowing that as a person with mixed ancestry, he was in a special position to help patients who might struggle to find a match. Robbie was recently called to donate, “it made me realize that anyone can have a massive impact on someone’s life just by swabbing and donating.”

Geoff Van Geem lives in the town of Durham and has been donating since his early twenties when a co-worker encouraged him to come along and donate blood. “I am thankful that someone took the opportunity 25 years ago to take me to my first donation. Here I am on #75!”

Paul Bourgeois from Victoria, BC just celebrated his 100th blood donation, an event he coincided to time with his mother’s 100th birthday, a fitting way to honour her service to others. “For me, donating blood is an easy way to give back. When I give blood, I sometimes think about who might be receiving it and what their circumstances might be. It gives me a good feeling to know I can do something to help someone.”

While giving blood and/or stem cells is truly an act of kindness, KIND believes in inspiring and celebrating kindness every day, from the simple acts to the grandiose. “We are excited to continue supporting Canadian Blood Services, a natural partner for KIND. As a brand, KIND improves the way we live, eat and relate to one another and fosters communities that are healthier, more empathetic and embrace our shared humanity. We are proud to extend kindness to the Canadian Blood Services community,” says Todd Kelly, General Manager, KIND Canada. “To help make it easy for Canadians to be kind, KIND is proud to donate one KIND^® Snacks product to Canadian charities for each product purchased in the month of November, up to a maximum of 100,000 items. We know that the ultimate kind act is giving blood and we hope Canadians will be inspired by the Kindest Canadians to donate.”

When donating with Canadian Blood Services, individuals will be giving directly to Canada’s Lifeline. Canadian Blood Services provides the connection between the generosity of donors and the heartfelt appreciation of recipients, between the profound discoveries of science and the joyful restoration of health. All eligible Canadians are encouraged to donate blood, plasma or stem cells. Canadians aged 17 to 35 can join the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry from the convenience of their home by joining online at blood.ca/worldkindnessday to receive a swab kit delivered to their home by mail.

Visit blood.ca/worldkindnessday to learn more about the Kindest Canadians and to take the pledge in celebrating World Kindness Day by donating – it is the kindest thing you can do.

About KIND^® Snacks

Since 2004, KIND has been on a mission to create a kinder and healthier world – one snack and one act at a time. Its iconic KIND^® bars – made with real, recognizable ingredients – sparked the growth of an entirely new healthy snacking category. Today, KIND has a family of more than 80 snacks that offer solutions for a variety of occasions. All of KIND’s products lead with a nutrient-dense first ingredient – whole nuts, whole grains or whole fruit – and do not contain genetically engineered ingredients, sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners.

Inspired by the belief that acts of kindness can be a transformative force for good, both the KIND brand and The KIND Foundation seek to inspire kindness and empathy.

KIND is majority founder- and team-owned, and every full-time team member has a stake in the company. To learn more about KIND, visit kindsnacks.ca.

About Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit charitable organization. Regulated by Health Canada as a biologics manufacturer and primarily funded by the provincial and territorial ministries of health, Canadian Blood Services operates with a national scope, infrastructure and governance that make it unique within Canadian healthcare. In the domain of blood, plasma and stem cells, we provide services for patients on behalf of all provincial and territorial governments except Quebec. The national transplant registry for interprovincial organ sharing and related programs reaches into all provinces and territories, as a biological lifeline for Canadians.

Learn more at blood.ca.