Thank you! Let's keep it going...

Thanks to everybody (volunteers and potential donors alike) who came together during the puja season to increase stem cell donation awareness and registration. Special thanks to Anand Patel, event coordinator for Navratri Raas-Garba at the International Centre and organizer at the Hindu Mandir (Mississauga), for his generosity and hard work on behalf of our cause; we were able to recruit 200 new registrants to OneMatch at this fantastic event. Thanks also to Mr. Prasad Banerjee at Toronto Kalibari, and the many organizers at the Prabasi Bengali Cultural Association (PBCA) for their generous cooperation with our recruitment efforts.

We were pleased to welcome The Honourable Bob Rae and his wife, Arlene Perly Rae, to our booth at the Raas-Garba (left). Mr. Rae, former NDP premiere of Ontario and current incumbent Liberal MP for the federal riding of Toronto Centre, was a bone marrow donor in 1989 for his younger brother, David, who sadly passed away from leukemia. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Rae, for recognizing the value of our efforts, and best of luck in the election tomorrow.

In a second photo (right), showing Mr. Rae enjoying some quality time with Mr. Rick Mercer at a lake in Ontario cottage country, note that the puncture sites from his marrow donation procedure have long-since healed over...

In the coming weeks, we hope to strengthen the many contacts we've made during the last several events and online, and work together to continue promoting awareness within the South Asian community. If you haven't already done so (shame, shame), register at our booth during Diwali at the following events:

Sunday, October 19, 11 am - 6 pm

AWIC Diwali Mela 2008

Grand Baccus Banquet and Conference Center

2155 McNicoll Avenue
Tel: 416-299-0077

www.awic.org

[Click on map for location]

Tuesday, October 28, 7:30 - 11:00 pm
Vishnu Mandir, Diwali Puja
8640 Yonge Street
Richmond Hill, ON
Tel: 905-886-1724
www.vishnumandir.com

[Click on map for location]

-Prateek Lala