The holidays are a time to reflect on how we’re contributing to our communities and helping the people around us.
As we enter the season of giving, we want to share some ideas for how you can support and give back to your local communities here in B.C. and spread the good tidings of compassion, generosity, and love to those that need it.
CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES
Giving blood, giving a lifeline. Photo: Getty Images.
For many across Canada, spending the holidays with their loved ones is dependent on the support of blood donors.
Canadian Blood Services facilitates donations from blood and plasma donors to maintain strong and healthy inventory levels all year long. That said, blood donation centres often experience a decline in donations during the last few months of the year.
To help ensure that patients in our communities receive life saving blood where and when they need it, you can be a lifeline by giving blood.
To find out if you’re eligible to donate, view the list of eligibility requirements and take the two-minute eligibility quiz.
There are three main blood donor centres located in the Lower Mainland:
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Vancouver Donor Centre at 4750 Oak Street
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Downtown Donor Centre at 888 Dunsmuir Street
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Surrey Donor Centre at 15285 101 Avenue
For the full list of donor centre locations and hours, along with the schedule for upcoming community donation events, visit blood.ca.
See blood.ca/covid19 for more on Canadian Blood Services’ health and wellness measures to ensure a safe donation experience for donors during COVID-19.
To book your donation appointment, download the GiveBlood app, call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283), or visit blood.ca/bc.
CRISIS CENTRE OF BC
Crisis Centre of BC. Photo: Oliver Wong for The Crisis Centre of BC.
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has led to many sudden changes and challenges in everyone’s lives. As people cope, overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and helplessness can emerge.
From the onset, the Crisis Centre of BC was called on to do what they do best – respond to a crisis.
Engaging in crisis intervention and suicide prevention, the Crisis Centre’s staff and volunteers are trained to connect with people over the phone and through chat services that extend B.C. wide as well as to the Yukon.
Through their distress services program — which includes 24/7 distress phone lines and online chat services between 12 p.m. and 1 a.m. — youth, adults, and seniors have immediate access to barrier-free, non-judgemental, and confidential emotional support through risk assessment, collaborative safety planning, and short-term follow-up.
In a single day, the Crisis Centre team receives approximately 300 call and chat requests from individuals in crisis. Clearly, there is great need and demand for these services through the B.C. and Yukon regions.
With the holidays approaching, these support services will be needed even more. The Crisis Centre of BC is supported by donations, which go towards ensuring individuals in B.C. communities continue to have immediate access to the support and resources they need in times of crisis.
For more info on how you can help foster compassionate, connected, suicide-safer communities, visit crisiscentre.bc.ca/donate.
VGH & UBC HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
South Surrey Grand Prize Home. Photo provided by VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Millionaire Lottery.
Each year, VGH performs over 30,000 surgeries and treats more than 600,000 patients.
Now, our health care heroes at VGH are encountering greater demand and challenges as they battle the COVID-19 pandemic. More than ever, B.C.’s largest hospital needs the public’s help to sustain the life-saving care provided by our doctors, nurses, frontline workers, and first responders to the patients who visit VGH every day.
The VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation’s Millionaire Lottery supports specialized adult health care and research in Vancouver at Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital, and GF Strong Rehab Centre. All Millionaire Lottery ticket purchases are vital contributions to helping transform B.C. health care and save lives throughout the province.
In this year’s Millionaire Lottery, there are over 3,100 prizes to be won – and they’re worth over $4.2 million in total.
By entering the lottery, you could be the lucky winner of 1 of 8 Grand Prize packages — including a handful of multi-million dollar home packages across the province in Vancouver, North Vancouver, South Surrey, Courtenay, Kelowna, and more. Or, you could choose $2.7 million tax-free cash to really live life like a multi-millionaire.
Millionaire Lottery tickets can be ordered now online, by phone, through mail, or in person at your local London Drugs. The lottery is eligible for B.C. residents only and you must be 19+ to play.
For more info on the Millionaire Lottery information and to learn how you can help make a difference for B.C.’s health care, visit millionairelottery.com.
