From March 5 to 6, the places that are usually bustling with students doing schoolwork and eating lunch will be filled with faculty, students and volunteers donating blood. On these two days, the library and annex will be completely closed to give room to the American Red Cross, the nonprofit organization tied to the Cherry Hill High School East Blood Drive.

When students and faculty arrive at the site, they will be greeted by the volunteers and chairpeople and guided through a check-in process. A nurse will be available to verify eligibility for donors and hold necessary health checks to ensure the safety of everyone giving blood.

Adding an exciting twist to this blood drive, the theme was decided to be Spotify. As donors wait during the donation process, they will be treated to a playlist featuring songs selected by the students who signed up through the Quick Response (QR) codes posted around the school. When scanned, the QR code will bring you to a form to sign up for the blood drive, providing an opportunity to select your own music and contribute to the ambiance of the drive.

Similar to last year’s drive where a raffle was held for donors, anyone who donates this year will be entered into the raffle to win one of the prizes — two $50 Visa gift cards and four $25 Visa gift cards — thus giving incentive to those donating.

Committed to aiding their chairs and helping lead the team to a successful blood drive are Charlie Heidt (‘25) and Walter Schmidt (‘25). With Heidt focusing on the promotional and design aspects, and Schmidt handling the outreach and online system, the team is in good hands. This spring, the chairpeople have been divided into two groups between Heidt and Schmidt, each group with their own responsibilities in promoting, designing and successfully putting together the blood drive.

Heidt began getting involved with the blood drive her sophomore year, helping put the drive together and promoting to reach the donor goals; this year, she decided to take the lead.

“I decided to become an overall chairperson because I noticed how important the roles were,” said Heidt. “I thought that that would be a really good experience for me to get experience running a team and planning things and like being the one who makes ultimate decisions.”

This year, the blood drive chairpeople are reintroducing “blood drops,” featuring a design of blood drops on the wall with each donor’s name being displayed, giving them recognition for their contribution as well as a way to remember the blood drive’s success by seeing this decor throughout the school.

The spring blood drive is significant in helping the community. With each donation saving three lives, its impact on aiding people in need is tremendous.

“In my opinion, I think that East has the biggest blood drive I’ve ever personally seen. So, if each donation can save three lives, I think that it could help a lot of people who are sick, or who are in need of blood,” said Heidt.