LAWRENCE, BEAVER COUNTIES Red Cross merger planned

The national American Red Cross encourages chapters to merge for better service.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- American Red Cross officials in Lawrence and Beaver counties are meeting this week to talk about merging operations.
"We will be talking about becoming one chapter with two offices to share resources, which makes more sense," said Tony DiCaprio, executive director of the Lawrence County chapter.
DiCaprio said the national Red Cross "strongly suggested" they consider the merger.
He thinks the merger makes sense from service and financial aspects.
"Right now, we both do financial audits and each send in fair-share contributions," he said. A merger would mean only one audit and one contribution to national, which would be less than both are paying now, he said. Lawrence County sends $29,000 a year to Red Cross headquarters; Beaver County sends $42,000.
Where money goes
Directors from both chapters say that money comes back to the chapters throughout the year in extra services and disaster relief aid given to the chapters by the national office.
"If a large disaster comes to our area and we can't financially support it, then national sends money," said John Stubbs, executive director of the Beaver County Red Cross.
Stubbs stressed that this week's talks are preliminary and that a merger would occur only if both chapters could enhance their services because of it.
DiCaprio said they hope people who use Red Cross services wouldn't see any difference after a merger. The talks will mostly center on bylaws and personnel policies, he said.
"It's all logistics," DiCaprio added, saying it will involve redefining job positions.
Phil Zepeda, spokesman for the Red Cross national headquarters, said the American Red Cross has been encouraging chapters to merge over the last several years.
"It's been a trend within the Red Cross. Upwards of 15 years ago, we had over 3,000 chapters; now, there are about 1,000. They are not going out of business, and we are not looking to make one national Red Cross. It's just a way to maximize efficiency," he said.
DiCaprio said the merger could occur as soon as the new year but will likely happen sometime in the spring.