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The American Red Cross today launched the Team Red Cross App. According to Nigel Holderby, spokesperson for the Red Cross Southern Missouri Region, people can now be connected to their local Red Cross and what is happening in their community through their smart phones.
It’s a quick and easy way, she says, for people to get notifications about different opportunities in the community through the Red Cross. And she says it talks about different levels of volunteering.
"So, say you want to check out what it takes to be a shelter volunteer and find out, you know, what kind of skills do you need to do that job, so it goes through all of the different opportunities and really gives you an overview of the Red Cross and what the Red Cross is all about and what we do," she said.
Holderby says the app makes it easy for people to learn more about the Red Cross and how they can help in a disaster.
When the Red Cross has a need for volunteers, the Team Red App will notify users based on their location. Potential volunteers can instantly accept or decline the volunteer opportunity.
Additional features include: a quick orientation on the mobile device, the ability for people to share notifications for volunteers with their social network, the chance to earn digital badges by completing a job test, accepting a job and more, the ability to donate money to the Red Cross and sign up to give blood and 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 Red Cross apps. Others focus on various topics including shelter locations, tornadoes and earthquakes.