Huskies’ Lalor nominated for national award

Bulger was just six years old when he was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer, and following a multi-year battle, sadly passed away at the age of nine.

He received three stem cell transplants and over 50 blood transfusions during his treatment.

“His experience relying on Canada’s Lifeline led him to passionately thank donors who generously volunteered time to give the gift of life and further dedicated his efforts toward creating awareness for Canadian Blood Services,” according to the Hockey Gives Blood website.

“Cameron was a budding humanitarian at heart, known for his humour and famous ‘Hulk Hugs’. He loved life, had an infectious smile that could light up a room and always found life’s positives.”

As for Lalor, in her first year as a player ambassador for Hockey Gives Blood, she hosted the largest blood drive last season, while also spearheading a stem cell event.

She told HuskieFAN when she first joined the cause and found out how many eligible Canadians aren’t giving blood, she was disappointed and felt as though she needed to step up.

“Every single person is able to give blood and essentially save a life, and there are people who are waiting for those blood donations, and it takes like an hour out of your day to go do,” Lalor explained.

“For us, especially as athletes, we’re healthy, we’re in good shape, and I felt like I didn’t want the people in Saskatoon and the athletes at Huskie Athletics to kind of take that for granted. This was a way for us to give back and not take for granted the health that we have, and be able to help out those people who aren’t blessed with that same reality.”

Hockey Gives Blood is a non-profit society that has partnered with Canadian Blood Services in an effort to engage and educate the hockey community about the importance of blood, plasma, stem cell, organ, and tissue donation.

It was founded in 2018 by former hockey players, all of whom were seeking to do more for the hockey community. When the Humboldt Broncos tragedy struck, they were filled with a desire to give back and Hockey Gives Blood is a work of passion for each of them.

Lalor mentioned that all played a big part in why she ultimately joined on as an ambassador, filling a big role in the province.

“Just the way that they present themselves in a community was a big thing for me, seeing the other ambassadors and how they’re all respected and looked up to in the community, that was something that I wanted to be,” she added.

“Also the fact that looking around the sports teams in Saskatoon, there was no ambassador and there was no one kind of promoting people to go and give blood. I felt like in such a tight-knit community it would be very beneficial for Saskatoon to have, and I just thought that it was a great cause and I wanted to help out in any way that I could.”

The inaugural Cameron Bulger Memorial Award winner for the 2022/23 season will be announced later this month.

Meanwhile, Lalor is working with the Canadian Blood Services to try and do a game in their honour to raise some money.

“I just am very grateful to everyone who showed up to the blood drive, as I don’t think the need for blood donations can be overstated. Lives are saved every day because of individuals who selflessly give their time and their blood, and each donation has the potential to make a very large impact on someone’s life,” Lalor said.

“It was amazing and just warmed my heart to see all the different people, athletes, staff and coaches, kind of banding together to help out people who can’t get what they need without us doing that.”

–

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8

by Ben Tompkins

Huskies’ Lalor nominated for national award

What's Trending