The Five Points of Life Ride

Trillium Gift of Life Network, (TGLN) Ontario, Canada has announced they are pleased to support an exciting event being organized by Canadian Blood Services and a US organization called LifeSouth - The Five Points of Life Ride. Cyclists will be riding from Ottawa to Miami.

Special events will take place as riders pass through the Canadian cities of Ottawa Ottawa (Sept. 8th), Toronto (Sept. 14th) and London (Sept. 16th) as described below. TGLN has asked for a good turnout to cheer the riders on to show support for donation and the cycling team. I'll be at the Toronto event.

The Five Points of Life Ride is an annual bike ride which is being launched from Canada for the first time this year and ends in Miami's South Beach where the team will be part of the keynote address at the 2006 American Association of Blood Banks meeting.

The ride's focus is to raise awareness for the five ways we can share life with others through donation of blood, apheresis, marrow, organ/tissue and cord blood. The cycling team consists of amateur cyclists who each have a personal connection to one or more of the Five Points as donors, recipients or in some cases, both.

The team acts as messengers for the program sharing their experiences and the reason why it is so important to donate. As they travel along the route, they stop at events arranged by local donor organizations to share their stories and, hopefully, inspire more people to become donors. Riders come as far away as South Africa and events range in terms of size, location and spirit.

You can read more about the event at: Five Points of Life

Here is a list of events taking place during the Ontario leg of the ride.

Ottawa has been selected by LifeSouth as the official kick-off site for the ride!
Date: Friday, September 8th

Time: 10am - 11am

Location: Parliament Hill - by the main steps

Event Details: Speakers from LifeSouth, Canadian Blood Services, Trillium Gift of Life and local politicians and VIPs will be on hand to cheer on the cyclists as they embark on their journey across Ontario and the US. Volunteers are asked to come out to help send off the cycling team in true Canadian style! You are encouraged to bring along your bikes so you can ride a portion of the ride through Ottawa - for as long or as short as you like. As this will be a media event, we hope that all of our volunteers in the Ottawa area can come with their bikes and bring along friends and family members who are also champions of donation and transplantation.

Toronto
Date: Thursday, September 14th
Time: 10am - 11am

Location: Toronto General Hospital - Peter Munk Cardiac Centre Entrance (main entrance off of University Ave.)

Event Details: The cycling team will be dropping by TGH to speak about their experiences with donation and the Ride for Life. Frank Markel, TGLN President and CEO along with other speakers will emphasize the connection between organ and tissue and blood donation. TGLN would appreciate as many volunteers, friends and family as possible to come out to the event to show their support for donation and the cycling team.

London
Date: Saturday, September 16th
Time: 10am - 11am
Location: Canadian Blood Services Clinic - 840 Commissioners Road East

Event Details: The cycling team will be biking to the clinic to thank the blood donors for their generous donations. They will also be speaking about the connection between organ and tissue and blood donation. Dr. William Wall, Director of the Multi-Organ Transplant Program will be among the speakers talking about the critical need for organ, tissue and blood donation and Recipient and Donor quilts will be displayed. TGLN would appreciate as many volunteers, friends and families as possible to come out to the event to show their support for donation and the cycling team.