World Kindness Day
Friday, November 13
Do the KIND Thing™ and help save lives
KIND® Snacks is a proud partner of Canadian Blood Services. By improving the way we live, eat and relate to one another, KIND hopes to foster communities that are healthier, more empathetic and embrace our shared humanity.
Given the unprecedented year we’ve had, we’ll be highlighting the stories of some of the Kindest Canadians including some amazing milestone donors who have generously made upwards of 75 blood donations. To celebrate World Kindness Day, every donor who visits a Canadian Blood Services donor centre in November will receive two KIND® bars - one to snack and another to pay forward.
In celebration of World Kindness Day — Friday, November 13 — we invite you to Do the KIND Thing™ and help save lives.
The Kindest Canadians
We believe some of the Kindest Canadians are individuals who have generously and consistently performed the ultimate act of kindness, such as donating blood in support of saving lives.
Geoff van Geem
“I am thankful that someone took the opportunity 25 years ago to take me to my first donation,” says Geoff van Geem. “And now here I am on my 75th!”
Geoff lives in Durham Ont. He has been donating since his early twenties. He was encouraged to donate blood for the first time by a colleague and he’s kept coming back ever since.
Paul Bourgeois
“For me, donating blood is an easy way to give back,” says Paul Bourgeois. “It gives me a good feeling to know I can do something to help someone.”
Paul is from Victoria, B.C. He just celebrated his 100th blood donation which he dedicated in honour of his mother’s service to others. This event also coincided with her 100th birthday.
Allen Veal
“It is such a simple act and the impact is immeasurable,” says Allen Veal of Charlottetown, P.E.I. “I am so proud to do my part.”
In recent years, Allen has seen, firsthand, the impact of his donation with his infant granddaughter requiring open-heart surgery to survive. Throughout his lifetime, he has donated 1,000 times, impacting countless lives.
Mackenzie Curran is a 22-year-old leukemia survivor who is now living a healthy life, thanks to an unrelated donor stem cell transplant she received at the age of 16. Since her lifesaving procedure, Mackenzie has been an advocate for the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry, encouraging young people to sign up. “It is really incredible to know that someone signed up because they heard me speak and to know they could possibly save somebody’s life, just like mine was saved."
Mackenzie is just one of the kindest Canadians from across Canada that have joined Canada’s Lifeline and have repeatedly performed the ultimate kind act, supporting our nation’s blood and/or stem cell supply.
Robbie Faraday, a 22-year-old from Toronto was inspired by a classmate to join the stem cell registry, knowing that as a person with mixed ancestry, he was in a special position to help patients who might struggle to find a match. Robbie was recently called to donate, “it made me realize that anyone can have a massive impact on someone’s life just by swabbing and donating.”
Robbie Faraday is just one of the Kindest Canadians from across Canada that have joined Canada’s Lifeline and have repeatedly performed the ultimate kind act, supporting our nation’s blood and/or stem cell supply.
One of this year’s honourees, kindest Canadian Quinn Bleakley from Stoney Creek, Ont., understands firsthand the importance of being a regular blood donor and doing whatever it takes to help save a life. In 2018, she donated one of her kidneys to her dad. They both experienced some complications during the surgery which required multiple blood transfusions. Today, thanks in part to generosity of blood donors, they are thriving. Quinn now donates blood regularly and shares that “it is such a warm feeling to know that my blood donations could save multiple lives.”
If your life has been impacted by blood, plasma or stem cell donation, we invite you to share your story, donation experience or reason for joining Canada’s Lifeline on social media throughout November and especially around World Kindness Day (Nov. 13). Please tag @kindsnacks and @CanadasLifeline and use the hashtags #snackKIND or #CanadasLifeline whenever possible.
To honour Remembrance Day, this master corporal suggests donating blood
Greg was inspired to donate blood after his son, Cole, was diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan anemia at the age of two months. Cole’s condition is a rare blood disorder that affects his bone marrow’s ability to produce red blood cells. He requires regular blood transfusions to stay alive.
About KIND® Snacks
Since 2004, KIND has been on a mission to create a kinder and healthier world — one snack and one act at a time. Its iconic KIND® bars — made with real, recognizable ingredients — sparked the growth of an entirely new healthy snacking category. Today, KIND has a family of more than 80 snacks that offer solutions for a variety of occasions. All of KIND’s products lead with a nutrient-dense first ingredient — whole nuts, whole grains or whole fruit — and do not contain genetically engineered ingredients, sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners.
Inspired by the belief that acts of kindness can be a transformative force for good, both the KIND brand and The KIND Foundation seek to inspire kindness and empathy.
To learn more about KIND, visit kindsnacks.ca.
Check back after November 24 to access a coupon for $1 off any (1) KIND product.
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