As schools and businesses shut down at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, one critical need that emerged was a safe way to collect blood donations. Schools, with spacious areas such as gymnasiums and cafeterias and ample electrical outlets and entrances/exits, offered a way to bring in donors while keeping them safely distanced.
New Trier answered a call from the Red Cross to be a host site early in the pandemic, and a life-saving partnership was born. Now the school is a community host site for monthly blood drives each year, saving thousands of lives in the process.
The Red Cross and New Trier work together to find times around school breaks and days off to host blood drives without disrupting school operations. The blood drives take place at the Northfield Campus, 7 Happ Road, in the cafeteria. Donors should park in the south parking lot and enter through the courtyard gate to access the cafeteria. Both the school and the Red Cross follow strict safety standards for blood collection, blood handling, and cleanup of the space before and after the drives. Please sign up here. The drives generally run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Upcoming New Trier dates are:
- Monday December 23
- Friday January 3
- Monday February 17
- Friday March 28
- Friday April 18
- Friday June 20
