The Penn State Student Red Cross Club is aiming to raise 409 units of blood in March as part of what it’s calling the 409 Campaign. In an effort to honor Joe Paterno’s legacy while also saving about a thousand lives if the goal is reached, the club will hold five drives in March to try and hit the total.

Bethany Gruskin, the club’s Corporate Sponsorship Officer, said that they decided to hold the campaign because the club’s THON drives in January saw disappointing results.

“Due to how poorly the THON drives have been doing, we have launched a new campaign for this March only, the 409 Campaign,” Gruskin said. “Nobody quite knows what we do and that we exist. We are currently running four large campaigns a year with goals of over 1,000 units of blood.”

Gruskin added that the club felt its ode to JoePa would serve as a way to raise awareness about its blood drives while also honoring the late football coach.

“We truly feel that this would be an amazing way to honor his legacy, by saving over 1,000 people, with donations from 409 individuals,” Gruskin said. “We will have a supply of pizza from 409 Pizza and will be honoring JoePa’s memory throughout the campaign.”

The dates for the five March drives have not yet been announced, but they will be held throughout the upcoming month. It might not be the most orthodox way to promote a blood drive, but it’s for a great cause and honors a great man, so who am I to argue?