By Ellen Tsaprailis
Photos by Akintunde Akinleye
The Ravens men’s football team helped collect an impressive 78 pints of blood on Nov. 30, 2018 at their Give Life blood donation clinic on Carleton University’s campus.
“This (blood) will be used in the community and help save lives,” said Head Coach Steve Sumarah. “It is our way of helping contribute back to the community with our number one resource—our players.”
More than 20 Ravens donated blood while another 30 volunteered to ensure the clinic ran smoothly. The team recruited donors, ran the refreshment area and made sure donors felt well before leaving. Donors received a complimentary Ravens football T-shirt and were presented with compilation of the football team’s successes both on the field and off the field in addition to how valuable their blood donation is.
Large Donor Base
MaryAnn St. Michael, territory manager of donor relations for Canadian Blood Services, says they typically host two blood drives on campus each semester. Sometimes they will schedule a third due to Carleton’s large donor base and interest from students.
“A big win for Canadian Blood Services is that the Ravens football team has been recruiting donors on our behalf,” says St. Michael. “This extends our reach in the university and helps bring more new donors to the blood drive. This is important because we need more Canadians to become regular blood donors to meet Canada’s future blood needs.
“In 2018, about 100,000 new blood donors will be needed to give blood, replace the aging donor base and maintain the national blood supply.”
Carleton Ravens Football Blood Clinic in its Third Year
The Ravens team supported an on-campus blood drive three years ago and then decided the last two years that they would run their own clinic with the help of Canadian Blood Services.
“The response has been amazing with a sold-out event,” says Sumarah. “The community was a big part of bringing back the program after many years away. This is a way for our players to also give back to the university and local community in a way that we hope makes a difference.”
Wednesday, December 5, 2018 in Athletics
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