Red Cross Expanding Blood Donor Call Center in Tucson, AZ

Note: This call center is unrelated to the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Red Cross, which is a separate entity from the Arizona Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross.

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2010 — The American Red Cross has plans to consolidate its blood donor call center operations to three locations across the country, including a facility which will bring approximately 300 new jobs to the Tucson, Arizona area. The two other sites include Charlotte, North Carolina and Omaha, Nebraska. The Tucson facility is expected to open this summer.

Red Cross telerecruitment efforts are currently conducted in blood centers across the organization, and the organization plans to relocate these operations to the three new locations. Telerecruiters contact donors to schedule appointments to give blood and provide reminder calls to individuals scheduled to donate.

In selecting Tucson, the Red Cross identified a number of criteria including the availability of skilled labor, the availability and cost of facilities, and any economic incentives offered by the city.

The Tucson Telerecruitment Call Center, to be located within the new Red Cross Arizona Regional Headquarters at 3470 E Universal Way, will service the South Central and Western Blood Services divisions, whose territories cover the southern part of the Midwest and the West Coast.

The Red Cross plans to relocate the 20 staff members currently performing this work within the blood region here in Tucson. We anticipate hiring additional staff for the new operation from within the local community. They will receive extensive training and play an integral role in recruiting blood donors for the Red Cross blood program.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org. For information specifically on Blood Services, please visit redcrossblood.org.