Join the Fight to Save Lives!

From a young age, Chantelle Chornoby knew she wanted to help people who suffered from addiction. Growing up as a War Lake First Nations in Northern Manitoba, Chantelle witnessed first-hand what addiction can do to a community. Her passion to help others led her to CDI College's Addiction and Community Services Worker program. She quickly became a valued member of the CDI College family, and when Chantelle was diagnosed with leukemia, her classmates rallied around her, holding blood drives and signing up for the OneMatch bone marrow registry. Despite everyone's best efforts, Chantelle lost her battle with cancer in May 2010.

This summer, in order to carry on Chantelle's legacy of helping others, CDI College is teaming up with Canadian Blood Services (CBS) to hold its first annual Blood Drive. The drive will be held in honour of Chantelle and her fight to save lives. As an Addictions and Community Services Worker student, it was Chantelle's hope to make a difference in her community. With your help, we can help carry on Chantelle's legacy and create a tradition at CDI that can be carried on for years to come.

"The blood drives held by CDI College are important because, for one thing, it was important to Chantelle," said Candice Laliberty, Chantelle Chornoby's mother. "Only 1% of the 220,000 people on the OneMatch registry were aboriginal, and there was no match for Chantelle. She wanted to make sure that other aboriginals were able to have a better chance at finding a match and so she said I want to raise that number, and get more people on that registry so that someone else in my place can have a chance at life."

During the week of August 16-20, 2010, take the time to donate blood, register for the OneMatch bone marrow registry or both. Encourage friends and family to join in. Donations from each campus will be tracked through a CBS partner number and each province will be challenged to bring in the most donations!

Talk to your campus director to find out about how you can join CDI's fight to save lives!

August 2010 Newsletter

How to Donate Blood

All year round Canadian Blood Services (CBS) looks for donations from Canadians to meet the need for blood around the country, but summer is an especially high volume time of the year. More people are hitting the open road for summer vacation, jumping into the boat, and enjoying holidays. But with summer fun also comes increased accidents and that's when CBS jumps into action.

Make a point to donate blood this summer. Donating is easy - all you have to do is call 1-888 2 DONATE to make an appointment, or sign up with your campus director to catch a shuttle during the week of August 16-20, 2010. Not sure if you qualify to donate? Canadian Blood Services has sent literature to each CDI campus outlining who's eligible, clinic hours, information on the donation process and stories from past recipients. Your campus director will also have a CBS ID number you can use to track your donations.

CDI College is a strong believer in community involvement and what better way to take part in your community than donating blood to those in the greatest need? 

 

One Match Program

For many diseases, a bone marrow transplant is the only chance for a patient's survival. Unfortunately, less than 30% of patients are able to find a compatible match within their family. That's where Canadian Blood Services' OneMatch program comes into play.

The OneMatch program registers donors' DNA and keeps it in a database to draw upon for Canadians who are in need of a transplant. Every unique ethnicity has different markers in their genetic make-up, so it is important to have a registry rich in donors from all ethnic backgrounds.

CDI's Chantelle Chornoby was placed on the wait list for a bone marrow match during her battle with leukemia, unfortunately, a match was never found. Because Chantelle was aboriginal, the pool of donors available to her was quite small, which is the case with many ethnic minorities.

Thanks to CDI College's diverse ethnic population, we can start spreading the word throughout all ethnic communities in Canada about the importance of signing up for the OneMatch program. You can register at the same time you donate blood, or any other time, at a CBS clinic.

For more information, head to www.onematch.ca

Have you ever donated blood? Know someone who needed blood? How about someone who needed a bone marrow transplant? Share your stories with us on CDI College's Facebook Page!

Social Networks

Have You Joined the Conversation?

One of the best things about heading back to school is the life-long friends you meet. After spending every day together, working on projects and studying for exams, a special bond forms. Long after you've moved on from CDI College, you'll look back at your time here and remember all the great people that made the experience even better. But will you stay in touch? How long will you exchange emails or call each other up on the phone?

Don't worry - CDI's thought of that too. Join the CDI College Facebook page and you'll always be a click away from your classmates! Share your successes, keep up to date on what's taking place at your campus and share your experiences with new CDI College students who are about to follow the same path as you!

Find it easier to connect with people on Twitter? You can find us there too! Give @CDICollege a shout and let the Twitterverse know why CDI is the best place to gain a life-changing education.

Wherever you are online, CDI College is there to support you in your studies and future career. Connect with CDI alumni on LinkedIn, watch videos about great career options on YouTube and meet new friends on CDI College's MySpace profile!

Find direct links to all our social media profiles at the top of the newsletter!