Carroll Newsroom /

Two years after the COVID-19 shutdown, the spring blood drive at Carroll High School has returned to the familiar ground of the Patriot gym.

The “Unity” blood drive on March 23 marked the sixth annual “Unity in the Community” campaign with rival Chaminade Julienne High School.

The closing of schools in March of 2020 meant cancelling proms and graduations, and at Carroll the school musical Bye Bye, Birdie, But Carroll re-opened the gym on the final day of virtual classes to reschedule the school blood drive. As the pandemic continued, Carroll shifted blood drives to Bloodmobiles.

“It’s our first indoors since 2020,” said science teacher and blood drive coordinator Laura Wright. “It makes it easier to come and go from classes when it’s down here.”

Wednesday’s return to the gym marked a step toward traditional collection goals. There were 70 donors, a 49% improvement from the 2021 spring blood drive, and 54 donations. The 44 first-time donors more than doubled the number of new donors from a year ago.

The annual “Unity in the Community” campaign is a partnership between Community Blood Center, Universal 1 Credit Union, and rivals Carroll and CJ. The schools host Unity blood drives and alternate choosing a charity to receive the Unity Award sponsored by Universal 1.

The sixth annual Unity in the Community campaign began with CJ’s Feb. 25 “Drop of Love” blood drive.  It totaled 71 donors, 64 donations and 39 first-time donors.

Carroll will choose the recipient of the $1,000 Unity Award, which will be presented at an upcoming Carroll-CJ basketball game.

Freshmen Addy Westerfield and Sam Smith volunteered to organize the Carroll Unity blood drive. They found sponsors to donate pizza, donuts and cookies and directed volunteers.

“People signed up, that’s something we do here a lot,” said Addy. “So, everyone signed up to donate blood.”

“I’m always looking for opportunities to lead and serve the community,” said Sam. “It’s a very good cause. I also want to donate blood next year when I’m old enough to donate.”

“My mom is a pharmacist, she donates, and she’s always encouraging me and my brothers to donate,” said junior Nadia Severt. “It helps people and it’s a good cause.”

Junior Jacob Ruef Setting set a good example for new donors by making his fourth lifetime donation on Wednesday.

“My great-grandfather had a plaque downtown for donating a large amount of blood,” said Jacob. “It was really cool to see how big an impact he had and how many people he helped.”

Junior Brooke Close made her first donation Wednesday with a goal in mind. “Red Cord!” she said, about the CBC Red Cord Honor program for students who register to donate at least three times in their high school years. “It shows accomplishment in the blood drive and helping people.”