The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Thank you local blood donors 1 am hopeful that we can count on your continued support of both the local mobile clinics as well as the permanent clinic in Waterloo in the year ahead. As supporters of the blood proâ€" graim, you are undoubtedly aware that the need for blood and blood products, such as platelets and plasâ€" ma, never stops. Patients being treated for cancer, surgery and trauma depend on a stable blood supply yearâ€"round. We need more Canadians to make blood donation a regular part of their lives in order to meet patient needs in the coming years. On behalf of Canadian Blood Serâ€" vices, 1 would like to thank you for your dedication to the blood program. As our research demonstrates, 52 per cent of Canadians say they or a family member have needed blood or blood products for surgery or for medical treatment (Ipsos Reid). The need is constant. In our last fiscal year, April 2006 to March 2007, a total of 25,148 Some of them are frequent listeners of the radio, others have no idea what‘s going on, and then there are the people who are there for treatment at the centre, or perhaps to support family and friends at the hospital I('s during this week every year that [ realize just how lucky I am. Everyone, | think, should have the opportunity to experience what I go through at the Poster Boy camâ€" paign. It is . in many ways, a lifeâ€"altering experience. * The Holden family of Waterloo, who held a garage sale and donated more than $700. s _« Hollie Kane, a Waterloo woman who raised sevâ€" eral thousands of dollars this year, just by shaving her head. > Every year there are people who stand out, and this year, there are two who are among the most courageous men [ have ever met. Living in front of the cancer centre, in a fairly prominent location, gives me a chance to interact with a huge number of people. Over the last couple of years, it has become more and more common for people who are battling canâ€" cer. either as patients or as friends and family members, to come up during the m week and tell me their stories I always feel honoured that these peoâ€" ple, going through what are in many cases the most difficult times of their lives, will take a few minutes to relate their stories. their feelings and their hopes... all with the belief that by doing that, they may be able to help someone else. That long list of remarkable people 7 includes s * Lorel Paquet, the Northlake Woods Ts public school teacher who has galvaâ€" B nized the entire Lakeshore North comâ€" munify, raising more than $100,000 over BO the past few years * Rachel Hastonâ€"Paquette, a St Mary‘s mgh school teacher. who has turned pancakes into gold. Ttaising some $40,000. =_* The Martin family of Waterloo, who have held a bake sale for seven years, and this year raised the highest amount ever. The luckiest man in the world units were collected in Waterloo Region. Considering that one unit of blood has the power to improve or save three lives, Waterloo Region donors have potentially helped over 75,000 patients in need. Businesses worried about lost parking spaces should consider the increased pedestrian traffic a public square will bring â€" or, consider sellâ€" ing wares people will be willing to walk an extra hundred feet or so for. We are hopeful that for this comâ€" ing fiscal year, we can again have successful clinics in Waterloo Region. Canadian Blood Services Drop the fear factor Why are so many people against the notion of a public square? Public squares, properly done, become destinations in and of themselves. If your main draw to customers is your proximity to a parking space, it‘s time to reâ€"evaluate your business model. As for Scott Abrams‘ recent letter COMMENT While living down here, we bumped into a man named Roland. Three weeks ago, his wife became ill, and as the campaign began, Roland and his extended family found themselves in a place they never imagined. It all began, innocently enough, with pneumoâ€" nia. Roland spent a couple of days just dropping by and talking, before telling me he wanted to record an interview. _ It was one of the most emotional I‘ve done. Roland‘s wife had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a particularly difficult form of cancer. Roland and his wife, like my wife and I, have been married for 28 years, and are just moving into the time when their kids would be grown and gone "It was supposed to be our time," he told me [ admire his strength and his resolve to help, even when he is facing an incredible challenge My other hero is Mike Allard A Waterloo regional police officer, Mike first began talking to me after last t 6 year‘s Poster Boy campaign _It would not happen without them. 1 am the luckiest man in the world to have them. m _| (On our Wall of Hope at the Poster AN Boy site, one of his sons wrote: "Dad. beat cancer," and 1 thought it was a RKE simple, yet powerful declaration of what is so often unspoken in these cases. Mike and his family have become the voice of this campaign, and I thank them for their unselfish ness. And my closest heroes are my own family. My wife, Diana, and my daughters, Allison, Nicole and Heather, have been the usual supportive quartet, with Allie and Diana spending hours on site greetâ€" ing people, and helping me put interviews together. * Hear more of Brian‘s thoughts on life with the KOOL Morning Crew every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a m. on Waterloo radio station 105.3 KOOL FM. â€"_ Mike has been battling cancer ever since, and I‘ve come to know him, his wife, Charlotte, and their two young stating "none of the designs appear to offer seating for more than 100 people," based on my viewing of the recommended concept plan, and taking into account formal and informal seating, 1‘d easily put this number between 150â€"200. Moreover, he notes stairs might impede disabled citizens, but doesâ€" n‘t note the ramps and walkways designed for just this purpose. Finally, while stating as fact that the project will be "ugly" and "unwanted" (drawing comparisons to orange artwork in front of Kitchâ€" ener‘s courthouse) and invoking unsubstantiated accusations of graft and carpetâ€"bagging consultants, after looking at the designs I would reframe what he says as follows: "The public square concepts are all quite nice and a good deal more esthetically pleasing than the 66 asphalt parking spaces it replaces. _"Additionally, no ugly orange worms are present." _ In short, let‘s drop the fearâ€"monâ€" gering and start the factâ€"mongering. _ I for one can‘t wait to see this square realized. Waterloo [ | "No matter how big or small, how weak or strong â€" everyâ€" thing dies. We experience the sun and the moon, the wind and the rain. We learn to dance and laugh. Then we die." My fourâ€"yearâ€"old daughter recently asked me what it means when people die. Unprepared for the question, I felt the need to protect her and told her we would talk about it another time. Fortunately for me, Wilfrid Laurier University‘s faculty of social work providâ€" ed a free public seminar last week on talking to children about death and dying. "We prefer not to talk about it until we have to," said Russell. "Lots of caring people do the wrong thing for all the right reaâ€" sons, and many parents don‘t want to expose their children to death and dying." Russell said children do not need protection; they need comâ€" petent guidance and honest answers . _ Een to their questions about life and death. _ "Children ask questions in a very direct way," said Russell. "Seizing the moment is important, and the best time to talk about the subject is when they want to." The speéker- was Ceilidh Eaton Russell, a councillor at the Max and Beatrice Wolfe Centre for Children‘s Grief and Palliative Russell said most parents don‘t think about explaining death to their children until a relative dies. In the seminar, 1 learned that if a child has been protected against sorâ€" row, they will still react when they realâ€" ize what has happened. Nobody can avoid grief; you can only postpone it. Often, trying to protect a child will only cause them unnecessary anxiety and perhaps even guilt. _ â€" Children less than eight years of age are often interested in death and have complex concepts about it, but are not able to grasp its finality. When telling a child that someone has died. make sure the word "died" is used, said Russell, using clear and concrete lanâ€" guage. Listening carefully when a child asks a question is important, and it‘s helpful to understand what they know so far. Russell said kids are good at learning words and how to use them withâ€" out always knowing their meaning. "If a child asks, ‘Am I going to die?" tell them that they will someday," explained Russell. "And if they ask whether a parent is going to die, they should be told that all peopte die eventually, while reassuring them that they will always be loved and taken care of." "Children do not understand euphemisms," said Russell. "(Euphemisms) may help an adult feel better but they won‘t help a child understand what has happened. Avoid using ‘sleep‘ â€" kids worry that anyone could go to sleep and never wake up. "Also (avoid]: ‘We lost him" â€" kids wander where the person is and why they aren‘t looking for him "And ‘passed away‘ is too vague for kids to make sense of." Russell also stressed that when parents don‘t have an answer to a child‘s question, they should say so. It‘s OK for children to know that there are questions that adults, and even doctors, don‘t have answers to. 1 was especially touched by a story Russell told about a little girl who lost her father in a car accident. He taught her how to draw, and her mother often told her that if she keeps practising, she will always share an energy with him â€" and that, in a way, her daddy is still teaching her. Curious to know how questions about death and dying are approached at school, 1 asked my daughter‘s juniorâ€"kinderâ€" garten teacher. She lent me the book, The Fall of Freddie the Leal. In the book, Freddie and his companion leaves change with the passing seasons, finally falling to the ground with a winter‘s snow. With striking photographs, it‘s an inspiring and simple story illustrating the delicate balance between life and death. At the end of her seminar, Russell shared a few books as well, with titles like Gentle Willow and When Dinosaurs Die. "Also, sometimes kids aren‘t always looking for wisdom," Russell concluded. "Just a hug." Marshall Ward is a visual artist and an independent film maker. Email is welcome at mward@wlu.ca. The toughest question of all â€" from the book The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, April 25, 2007 * 11 MARSHALL