Fred Van Arragon

Representing Ontario and Nunavut

Fred’s enthusiasm for donating blood dawned an initiative now being embraced by other Ontario school boards. In 2017, as he approached his 100th donation milestone, Fred learned that thousands of new donors are needed each year. He already recruited his children to give blood, but now felt he needed to do more. Fred, a school principal, encouraged his staff to give blood at his next appointment. Twenty-seven group donation events have taken place since then, for a total of 71 new donors and 135 units of donated blood so far. His employer, the Simcoe County District School Board, endorsed the initiative among its more than 6,000 employees and now many other schools in the district are joining the initiative. Fred was delighted to have an endorsement in the form of a thank you letter to the staff at his school from a student who needed blood for a lifesaving operation when she was just a young child. Fred continues to recruit donors from within the school and its community of parents.