Blood Donor Clinic

On March 29, 2007, a group of nine Muslim Ottawan’s took a short part of their days to donate blood at the Canadian Blood Services Blood Donor Clinic at 1575 Carling Ave. This brave bunch consisted of both first time donors and those who have made it part of their charitable nature to give blood again and again.

With their time slots booked, the MAC Youth Give volunteers showed up between 5:00 to 7:00pm eager to partake in this very noble deed. The friendly and professional staff at the clinic took the first time donors through a rigorous and quick screening process that helps to ensure the safety of Canada’s blood supply.

In Canada, roughly 137,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year. Cancer patients often need blood or blood products to survive their treatments. We also know that the number of transplants has increased steadily from 16 per one million Canadians in 1981 to 59 per one million Canadians in 2000. This includes kidney, liver, pancreas, heart, lung and bowel transplants – all of which are lengthy procedures requiring significant amounts of blood. As you can see, the need for blood and blood products is rapidly rising.

We are told in the Glorious Quran that, “Whoever saves the life of a single person, it is as if he has saved the life of all (of humanity)” (Al-Ma'idah 5:32). Take these volunteers as an example and set aside a short period of your day to donate blood; you too could be helping to save a life.

So if you can stand a slight prick in the arm, and you like donuts, cookies and juice, call Canadian Blood Services at 1 888 2 DONATE, (1-888-236-6283) and set up your own personal time to give.

The Ottawa Food Bank

On Saturday, February 24th, 2007, a group of 15 Muslim youth volunteered at the Ottawa Food Bank as part of an event organized by Ottawa MAC Youth Give. This group of energetic young men and women decided to give back to their local community and to take action against hunger by volunteering two hours of their weekend to help sort food donations at the Food Bank.

Around 40,000 Ottawa residents go to food banks each month, 16,000 of whom are children. There are 112 local agencies in the Ottawa area that provide food for those in need with the help of the Ottawa Food Bank. As citizens of this great country, and as Muslims, we cannot simply watch this happen and do nothing.

The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "He has not affirmed faith in me (i.e. he is not a true follower) who eats to his satisfaction and sleeps comfortably at night while his neighbor goes hungry - and he is aware of it."

Ottawa MAC Youth Give plans on continuing to help out at the Ottawa Food Bank, and we encourage everyone to help out, whether it is through donations or volunteering.

For more information about the Ottawa Food Bank please visit the following web site: Ottawa Food Bank

Walk for Memories - Unforgettable!

On Sunday, January 28th, 2007 the MAC Youth Give Committee participated in the Alzheimer Society in Ottawa "Walk for Memories: Unforgettable" event held at Carlingwood Mall. The event included activities for the entire family and all proceeds went towards supporting the society’s services within Ottawa.

About 10 Muslim youth volunteers participated in this event and gained experience in set up, running and clean up of the event. Volunteers were given souvenir t-shirts and warmly thanked for their contribution.

Alzheimer disease affects 1 in 13 Canadians over the age of 65. Two thirds of those affected are women. Over 52% of Canadians know someone with Alzheimer disease, and almost 25% of us have someone in our family who is affected by this disease.




It is through participating in events such as the Walk for Memories that we, as Muslim, can not only give back and be involved in our local community, but that was can extend the voice of Islam in being compassionate and giving cherish in every way that we can.