TORONTO - Brenna Singer had always been too nervous to give blood. Until last Wednesday.

Nineteen people came to donate blood at the Hillel/Canadian Friends of Rambam Health Care Campus blood
drive last Wednesday.

Josh Zelikovitz, Lyla Abells, Brenna Singer.

“I wanted to give to help people,” said Singer at the Hillel and Canadian Friends of Rambam (CFRAM) Health Care Campus blood drive last week. “I was nervous, I don’t know, of the unknown. [But] I thought it was a good program and I thought, ‘This is my chance to do it.’”

Singer, a Queen’s University student going into her fourth year, was one of about 19 people to donate blood at the Canadian Blood Services Clinic, a number that impressed Sara Cuneo, a Hillel of Greater Toronto summer intern placed at CFRAM and the co-organizer of the drive.

“We brought in nearly 20 people, the [daily] average [at the clinic] is 44. That’s almost half of what they would have brought in,” said Cuneo, a York University master’s student.

“I really hope that, in this program, we were able to facilitate people’s ability to give blood in a way that was sort of more comfortable. We were able to go as a group rather than going by yourself and donating.”

For Lyla Abells, a Western University student going into her third year and a fellow Hillel intern and event organizer, the drive is a way to give to Toronto’s broader community.

“I think it’s important for Hillel to not only be responsive to Jewish causes,” she said. “We are a part of the greater community and we can’t forget that.”

Being a part of the greater community, for Abells, means responding to an important need. According to the Canadian Blood Services, 52 per cent of Canadians say they or a family member have needed blood or blood products for surgery or medical treatment.

“There’s such a need for blood. We don’t realize how many people need it,” she said. “So many people are scared to [donate]. This gives them a boost. We’re giving people that last little push to do it.”

And it’s an important push, especially since each blood donation can save up to three lives.

Ryan Kroll, who is going into Queen’s University for medical school, has given blood before, mainly because he has a B negative blood type, which is rare.

“It’s always good to give while you can,” said Kroll, adding that, while he came out, he wasn’t able to donate blood this time because of a recent trip to Panama, which could put him at risk for developing malaria.

The event, which included a barbecue, also helped raise awareness for Rambam Hospital in Haifa.

“[It’s] a 1,000-bed teaching hospital… that serves about two million people. That’s a third of Israel’s population,” Cuneo, who helped pass out pamphlets and answer questions, said.

Cuneo added that the hospital sets a good example for Canadians.

“In the wake of the flotilla [incident], the hospital took in both activists and soldiers. They provide medical care regardless of who you are. That’s something I think is very pertinent,” she said, adding that the hospital was the first in Israel to have an Israeli Muslim woman to head a department.

“It’s an example of Jews and Arabs working together. That’s an example we can take with us back to our campuses,” she said.