Your digest

It’s Giving Tuesday!

Today is Giving Tuesday, a day to celebrate giving and generosity in all its forms. Taking place on the first Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday every year, Giving Tuesday has come to be known as the official start of the giving season. This Giving Tuesday, we’re thanking supporters across the country for making the choice to give in support of patients — whether by donating financially, volunteering, donating blood, plasma or platelets, by registering to donate stem cells or organs and tissues. This Giving Tuesday, we’re reminding Canadians that there are many ways to give to Canada’s Lifeline. Learn more at blood.ca/ways-donate.

Virtual open board meeting set for this Friday

As part of our commitment to operate in an open and collaborative way, we will be hosting our second open board meeting of the year on Friday, Dec. 3 (10:30 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. ET). Employees and members of the public are invited to attend this virtual meeting to observe and learn about the key issues affecting and impacting our organization. The agenda includes presentations from our CEO, Dr. Graham Sher and our board chair, Mel Cappe, as well as keynotes from a donor and recipient pair. There will also be a question and answer segment and stakeholder presentations to the board. Employees are encouraged to join the live broadcast in English or French. For a full agenda, please see the invite in your Outlook calendar.

Reminder: register for the December wellness workshop

Employees are invited to register for one of two workshops on Wednesday, Dec. 1, led by employee wellness and recognition specialist, Christina Warrysh. Her timely workshop, “Tips for Managing Seasonal Stress & Connecting with Joy” will explore creative and effective ways to reduce stress, connect with calm, create joy and look after your whole self. In addition, it will highlight some of the other helpful wellness supports available to all employees. Click here to register.

Three ways to learn more about living organ donation

At any given time, more than 4,000 Canadians are waiting for an organ transplant. Living organ donation — when a healthy person donates a kidney or a portion of their liver to a recipient in need — can help reduce the waitlist and save lives. Canadian Blood Services has partnered with experts from around the world to provide resources on living organ donation including The Living Donation Storytelling Project, My Transplant Coach Canada/My Paired Donation Coach Canada as well as brochures in 11 languages to promote living organ donation in Canada. You can learn more about living organ donation and the resources available at blood.ca/stories.

Question of the Day: What do I do if I am dealing with a mental health issue but don’t feel comfortable talking to my direct supervisor/manager about my concern?

Deciding to talk to your manager or supervisor about your mental health can be difficult and may feel uncomfortable for some. If you are dealing with an issue that is affecting your work, your attitude towards it, your relationship with your colleagues or any other issue related to your work environment, then a conversation may help. Whether your first point of contact is your manager, your PCP business partner or a trusted colleague, what is most important is that you reach out and seek connection and support if you are struggling. You can also speak to someone about any issue through our Employee Assistance Program or the weekly drop-in counseling services available to all employees. For more information, please go to the updated wellness portal on Connect.

About Your Digest

This digest highlights the latest policy and employee support measures, resources to help you manage our new reality and original content to remind us that what we do matters. This information 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