Wilfrid Laurier University

Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) has been a Partner for Life for over a decade. Hosting mobile donation events, recruiting student donors and running their annual Blood Battle Challenge — with participation from their student body and the University of Waterloo’s — were all things Canadian Blood Services came to count on.
COVID-19, however, presented challenges for every aspect of their support. Mobile clinics had to be stopped and the Blood Battle, which was in its infancy and relied heavily on live sporting events for promotion, was also stifled. But, they found new ways to recruit supporters.

“Running an athletics and recreation department from home, you can imagine how hard that has been through COVID,” says KP Anand, associate director of business development and community outreach at WLU. “The Blood Battle actually helped in a way, because it gave students something to engage with, a friendly competition and something that was fun while also supporting the broader community.”

With strong leadership from varsity athletes and the WLU sports teams, the word about the Blood Battle was spread to students across the virtual campus who thankfully answered the call. Because of their hard work, WLU saw several new donors come out to support Canada’s Lifeline.
“Blood is always needed but especially during this pandemic, it felt really good to be able to support such an important cause,” says KP.