24 ways for doctors to give back

Air miles or travel points With in-person medical conferences starting up again, your travel points may begin to accumulate. Donating points is easy with most travel point programs; the hardest part may be deciding on which charity will get your points. Aeroplan, for example, partners with 128 charities that accept Aeroplan points, from Médecins Sans Frontières to the Regina Food Bank. One quarter of the Aeroplan points donated to date have gone to health-related causes. Artistic talent So many physicians have artistic skills or hobbies, be it sewing, writing, painting, woodworking or others. Why not share your gifts? If you’re a quilter, there are many places to donate your work, with groups that give quilts to cancer patients, survivors of trauma, new parents or children who are ill. If you’re an artist, local centres or groups might want artwork for their walls or to sell in craft sales. Whatever your skill, promising to donate your art may inspire you to do something you love, for a good cause. Athletic skill If you’re going for a run or a bike ride, why not raise some funds while you’re at it? From events that happen on a certain day—think the Terry Fox Run—to joining a charity’s team at any event—like Team Diabetes—many organizations make it easy for you to fulfill athletic goals while raising funds. Some events offer unique opportunities. For example, teams of 20 people pulled a FedEx Boeing 757 airplane across a tarmac in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto earlier this year to raise funds for Orbis Canada. Or you can climb Toronto’s CN Tower in April 2023 to raise money for the World Wildlife Federation and climb it again in October 2023 to raise funds for the United Way. Baby gear There may be an organization in your area that accepts gently used baby gear to redistribute to families. One example is Baby Go Round in Vancouver. It works with dozens of referring agencies in the Lower Mainland to help families get the gear they need. Community health clinics often run baby cupboards that provide diapers and formula; some take donations of diapers. Bicycles For more than 20 years, Cyclo Nord-Sud has been sending used bicycles to partners in 21 countries in Africa, Latin America and certain neighbourhoods in Montreal. They also provide bikes to aid workers completing internships or overseas placements, who then give the bikes to local residents before returning home. You can donate bikes at drop-off locations listed on their website cyclonordsud.org. Other organizations across Canada refurbish used bikes and donate them to community members in need. In Toronto, contact Bikes Without Borders; in New Brunswick, there’s the New Brunswick Bike Exchange; Winnipeg has the Winnipeg Repair Education and Cycling Hub (WRENCH); B.C. has Pedal Society and Bikes for All. Bicycles for Humanity also has chapters across Canada. Blood and blood products As a mother—and chief of emergency medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto—Dr. Aikta Verma said on Twitter in November that donating blood was the most relaxing part of her day. They also gave her potato chips. Canadian Blood Services has a handy guide to who is eligible to give blood and who is not. You can also donate stem cells: According to Canadian Blood Services, 1,000 Canadians are currently waiting for a stem-cell transplant. To join the stem-cell registry, go to blood.ca. Don’t forget umbilical cord blood. Dr. Rebecca Munk, a pediatric anesthesiologist at B.C. Children’s Hospital, and her husband, decided to donate the umbilical cord blood after the birth of their second daughter in 2021. “I work with children undergoing cancer treatments and I see the difference a stem-cell transplant can make in their lives and that of their families,” Dr. Munk said in a Canadian Blood Services press release. “So the decision to donate Eliza’s cord blood was easy.” While for-profit private cord blood banks exist, Health Canada, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and the Canadian Paediatric Society all recommend using Canadian Blood Services. For more information, visit blood.ca. Books Donating books can be tricky because a mouldy tome treasured by you (or the person whose house you’re cleaning out) might actually belong in a recycling bin. Gently used books in good condition with a recent publication date are welcomed by some organizations, including public library foundations or local programs that provide books to prisoners or new parents. Cars and other vehicles A number of organizations take donations of cars or other vehicles to raise funds for charities such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Kidney Foundation. Cars are resold or recycled. Make sure you read the fine print to learn about pick-up service, transfer of ownership and the amount of your tax receipt. Clothes You may already donate old clothes, but donating certain clothes strategically may make a bigger impact than sending them to a charity shop. Consider donating business attire to Dress for Success, which has chapters across Canada. It helps women prepare for job interviews, and once a client lands a job, Dress for Success supports them with a work wardrobe and job retention skills. Gently used snowsuits and winter wear can go to refugee support groups and family service organizations. For example, the Snowsuit Fund in Ottawa has been helping kids and adults stay warm for more than 30 years. Electronic waste Finally getting rid of the fax machine? Some organizations take e-waste and recycle the components. Most chapters of Habitat for Humanity take e-waste, but contact them before donating. Eyeglasses and hearing aids Lions Club International provides recycled eyeglasses to people in need. Glasses can be donated to the Canadian Lions Eyeglass recycling centre. Collection locations are on the group’s website at clerc.ca. Some chapters also refurbish hearing aids. Food Got leftovers from a staff party? Why not take them to a local shelter or out-of-the-cold program? It’s a good idea to call first and to ask if it’s wanted. Donations to food banks are also always needed, and fresh produce usually welcomed. When planning your garden, consider growing an extra row of produce to donate to a food bank. Furniture or appliances There are three main ways to donate furniture. One, donate it to a furniture bank that gives it directly to people who need to furnish a house. These furniture banks benefit refugees, people who need to be re-housed for various reasons or people who are getting a home for the first time. Furniture banks are often run locally. Toronto’s furniture bank has a list of others across Canada on their website furniturebank.org. Two, donate it to an organization that will resell it in their stores and use the proceeds to finance good deeds. For example, the Salvation Army, Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity do this. Third, give it to Value Village, a for-profit company that sells your goods and supports local charities. Whichever way you choose to donate, make sure to find out about pick-up options—or find a friend with a van. Hair Have you got eight to 12 inches of extra hair? Contact a group that collects hair to make wigs. Some ask for a monetary donation along with the hair. Home Canadians opened their homes to refugees fleeing Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February. This kind of offering is coordinated by local community groups. The best ones screen the homes before allowing refugees to stay there, protecting newcomers from bad situations. You can also help if you own a rental property. Airbnb works with refugee resettlement agencies to offer transitional housing in times of crisis. More information is at Airbnb.org. Jobs Giving people jobs is not an act of charity because you and your business benefit, but it could help people join the labour force who might struggle finding employment through traditional routes. The March for Dimes makes it easy for employers to hire people with disabilities by providing employer services that help with recruitment, accommodation and retention. The Ontario Disability Employment Network is a professional body of 140 employment service agencies that work to help businesses hire people with disabilities. They provide recruitment, training and consulting services. Other groups specialize in finding work for refugees or newcomers to Canada, such as Hire a Refugee in Winnipeg. The government of Canada’s Job Bank even has a special section for jobs for Ukrainian refugees in Canada. For odd jobs around the house (e.g., snow removal, gardening) see if your local shelter, drop-in centre or job bank has a way to hire clients. Land Landowners who donate ecologically sensitive land—or a partial interest in land—to conservation groups benefit from the federal government’s ecological gifts program, which provides significant tax benefits. You can also donate land through your estate. Or, keep your land but create a conservation agreement on your land. This is a contract between the landowner and a conservation organization saying the landowner will conserve natural features of the land. In return, the landowner is paid or given a tax benefit for making the agreement. The Nature Conservancy Canada or local conservation groups can provide advice on the options, and you should visit your lawyer to finalize the process. Medical supplies Surplus medical supplies can be given to Not Just Tourists, who put them together in suitcases for travellers to take to various destinations around the world. Going on a trip? Why not take a suitcase to a clinic? Find out more at njt.net. Mobility aids and other personal medical equipment ALS Canada welcomes donations of walkers and wheelchairs and other items for their equipment loan program. The Canadian Red Cross can accept donations in some provinces. Depending on the province, their Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP) usually accepts wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, cans, bath seats, commodes or toilet seats and other durable medical equipment. Local groups may also redistribute used equipment. Musical instruments Public libraries in 10 Canadian cities lend out musical instruments and accept donations of gently used instruments. To donate, contact the public libraries in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Toronto, Kitchener, Ottawa, Montreal, Fredericton, Halifax or St. John’s. Other local organizations, such as youth orchestras, may accept used instruments. Giving away a piano is trickier, and will probably cost money for appraisal and removal. Organs Make sure you register as an organ or tissue donor in your province. Some might even consider living kidney donations to help a loved one or even a stranger. There’s information at blood.ca. You can listen to stories from living donors at livingdonationstories.org. Paper shredding Most paper shredding companies offer community shredding events to support charities. This way you can dispose of files securely while supporting a good cause. These are usually one-day events and are often held on a weekend, so you’ll have to plan ahead to get this done. Technology ReBOOT Canada accepts donations of used computers, printers, cell phones and other technology to refurbish and distribute to charities and people in need. It also provides training and funds wifi access at various locations in Toronto. You can also donate items made on your 3D printer by joining E-Nable. This community makes artificial hands and other devices for people in need. More information is at enablingthefuture.org Tools Local tool libraries often have a wish list of tools they need. Schools or employment assistance programs may also take gently used hand or power tools, as well as sewing machines. Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore is a popular option for used tool donations, where funds from the sales fuel their work to provide housing for those without appropriate shelter.

24 ways for doctors to give back

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