Only five people now work at the Santa Cruz branch of the Red Cross, located on Highway 1. Like every charity in the region, the group has had to cut corners this year, to make up for a decline in donations. It has also started looking for ways to consolidate its operations and merge some with other Red Cross branches in Central California. “We’re trying to become more of a corporation,” said local board member Lee Yamada.
Cutting jobs in the local branch has met with varying degrees of success. A bookkeeper and marketer were let go, but their work is being assumed by other branches, with oversight provided by the San Francisco Red Cross. On the other hand, efforts to shift fundraising efforts to Monterey County met with failure. People did not want to see their donations directed out of county.
In addition to its miniscule workforce, the local chapter of the Red Cross has some 700 volunteers and thousands of donors across Santa Cruz. Despite the cutbacks, it is committed to providing the same level of service and sparing its programs and relief efforts. It operates on an annual budget of $900,000, though this a shortfall of 20 percent is expected. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
