Your digest

Join us today for our live townhall: Join us today at 1 p.m. ET for the next live Q&A with our CEO. Click the meeting link in this Outlook invitation to join live; and if you can’t make it check-out the event recording on your COVID-19 employee portal.  We look forward to seeing you all there!

We are adding more virtual fitness classes and need your input! Whether you are working on the frontlines or virtually, we want to make sure that all employees can take part in our virtual Goodlife fitness classes. We are adding more classes so no matter where you work, you can take advantage of this resource. Please take a moment to fill out this short survey (one minute) to tell us what timeslot would work best for you! More details on the new classes will be shared in the coming weeks. In the meantime, remember to register for virtual fitness on Connect.

NHL players team up to inspire stem cell registration: Hockey Gives Blood, one of our national Partners for Life organizations, has enlisted a few of its famous friends to help spread the word about the importance of stem cell registrations. All week long, Hockey Gives Blood will be sharing videos on its social channels featuring prominent Canadian-born NHL players – including Sidney Crosby, Ryan O’Reilly, Ryan Reaves and more – encouraging eligible Canadians to join the national stem cell registry. We are asking for your support in helping to amplify the reach of these videos by re-sharing Hockey Gives Blood content on your personal social platforms throughout the week. Read more on Connect.

Volunteer Life Bus driver marks 350 blood donations: More than 53 years after his initial blood donation, David Neu rolled up his sleeve for the 350 time this October. It’s one of the reasons why David—or Dave as he’s known behind the wheel—became a Life Bus driver for Canadian Blood Services 11 years ago. His favourite assignment? Picking up students at the area high schools. “I figured there’s going to be a lot of first-timers,” he says. “I started doing a little pep talk on the bus, introducing them to being a donor, to the procedure. I always say, ‘Hi, my name is Dave and I’m your driver and I’ve done over 300 (donations). Any questions?’ Then I went into the spiel about the procedure to calm their fears. “I was a student once, a first-timer. It’s my inner motivation on that one.” Read more about David’s inspirational journey on Connect.

Question of the day: When will we learn about more supports for caregivers?

More than 70 people participated in our working caregiver focus groups, demonstrating the growing and immediate need for additional supports. We are reviewing the suggestions developed and hope to provide our recommendations to employees by mid-November. Please keep an eye out in Your Digest for updates and firmer timelines.

Being a working caregiver is a balancing act and managing both in a pandemic can feel next to impossible. During Healthy Workplace Month, your colleagues are sharing some of the different challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic and the steps they’re taking towards their well-being and those they care for. We look forward to sharing these stories starting this Friday on Connect and in Your Digest.

If you are struggling, please know there are direct resources available for you through the employee assistance program and the COVID-19 leave supports for employees.

Image

About your digest   

This digest will highlight the latest policy and employee support measures, resources to help you manage our new reality and original content like articles and videos to remind us that what we do matters.  No access to email? No problem — all this information and more can be found on blood.ca/employees from any device, no login required.     

Click here to read past editions of your digest.     

Have questions? Check out blood.ca/employees or email us at communications@blood.ca