American Red Cross Launches New App to Recruit Volunteers

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross today launched the Team Red Cross App, which allows people to sign up to help, get an overview on basic tasks and receive notifications about Red Cross disaster volunteer opportunities in their community.

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"When people see the Red Cross responding to emergencies, they often want to help but don't know how," said Jim Starr, vice president of Volunteer Management for the American Red Cross. "The Team Red Cross App puts the power to help right in people's hands, by giving them an easy way to support their neighbors and the Red Cross."

Once users download the app, they create an account. Then they learn about different jobs, such as working in a warehouse, handing out supplies or assisting with feeding. When the Red Cross has a need for volunteers, the Team Red Cross App will notify users based on their location. Potential volunteers can instantly accept or decline the volunteer opportunity.

The Red Cross is encouraging the public to download the app before a disaster strikes in their community so potential volunteers can help immediately.

The app is free and designed for iPhone and Android smart phones and tablets. Features include:

• A quick orientation right on the mobile device.
• Ability for people to share notifications for volunteers with their social network.
• Earn digital "badges" by completing a job test, accepting a job, sharing the app, recruiting volunteers, etc. The "badges" can then be shared with their social network.
• Allows people to donate money to the Red Cross and sign up to donate blood.
• Offers emergency response information that people can share with their friends at the touch of a button.

The Team Red Cross App is the seventh in a series of highly successful Red Cross apps, which are now on more than 3 million mobile devices across the country. A recent Red Cross survey shows that apps are now tied with social media as the fourth most popular way to get information during emergencies—behind TV, radio and online news sites. Nearly one-fifth of Americans say they've received some kind of emergency information from an app they've downloaded, making the Red Cross apps an important way for the public to get ready for disasters.

The Team Red Cross App can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store by searching for American Red Cross or by going to redcross.org/mobileapps.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE American Red Cross