Morning muffins, company potlucks, 50/50 fundraisers and more are staples of corporate giving and bring colleagues close together.
But sometimes, a group of co-workers will take part in a spontaneous gesture just because they care about someone.
That happened last Friday at a Coquitlam church when 25 employees and managers with RBC Coquitlam Town Centre gave blood.
Among the group were the squeamish and the tough-minded, people who had given blood before and newcomers, and all had on their mind one thing: their colleague Farhad Abbasi, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia and needed their help and support.
"We all came together to talk about this," said manager Jocelyn Tanaka. "Life is so precious, and we thought, 'What can we do now?' We thought, 'Let's step up and do it in his name.'"
Giving blood at a Canadian Blood Services (CBS) mobile clinic seemed like the ideal way to support Abbasi because he had been a regular blood donor and would need blood after his chemotherapy treatments.
According to Sarah Jasmins, a manager with the CBS, cancer patients need eight pints of blood a week so every drop counts.
"What an amazing show of support," she said about the RBC blood drive.
Meanwhile, Abbasi, recovering from his last round of chemotherapy, is thrilled with the gesture.
"This means a lot to me. When I got a text message from my manager that they were going to do this, I was shaking, literally, I cried. This means a lot when you see people getting inspired by what you've done and continue your actions," Abbasi said.
The father of a two-year-old daughter, Tina, Abbasi said giving blood has been part of his life since he was a teenager and when he last gave blood in October 2015, never thought much about it. Six months later, during a 45-day stay at Vancouver General Hospital, he received the life-giving transfusion of O-positive blood.
"I looked at that bag, it was a really big moment for me," Abbasi said.
Knowing his colleagues are supporting him makes his recovery that much sweeter as he waits for his next round of chemotherapy.
"Right now, I'm battling for my health and definitely I'm going to be successful."
