Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association

Calgary, Alberta

“We’ve partnered with Canadian Blood Services for more than a decade and our members are proud to do whatever they can to help,” says Qamar Ahmad, social services director for Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA), Calgary Region.

AMYA is an international non-profit organization for Muslim men aged 15 to 40. With more than 90 local chapters across the country, it is also Canada’s largest Muslim youth group. The more than 400 members of the Calgary chapter organize and support a long list of fundraisers and volunteer activities, including blood drives and stem cell swabbing events.

Each year, AMYA organizes a blood donor event at a Calgary mosque that collects nearly 100 units of whole blood. The COVID-19 pandemic inspired AMYA to host an additional event during the summer of 2020. The 2018 and 2019 editions of AMYA’s Run for Calgary attracted hundreds of recreational athletes and raised a total of more than $40,000 for Canadian Blood Services.

“Community service a central tenet of Islam,” says Qamar. “A verse in the Qu’ran states that ‘saving a life is like saving the whole of humanity,’ so it really makes sense for us to support Canadian Blood Services.”