Photos by Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

On Wednesday, Lewis Martin loads a van with items to head to storage from the New River Valley chapter of the American Red Cross in Radford. Crews have been working this week to move files and equipment from the Blacksburg office, which has closed, to the Radford office.

Paula Downs (left), director of the New River Valley chapter, and Janet Martin clear space in a classroom at the Radford branch.

| Sharla Bardin

sharla.bardin@roanoke.com, 381-1669

BLACKSBURG -- American Red Cross officials have closed and consolidated their chapter office in town into one administrative office in Radford.

It's a move that officials say will help save overhead expenses and put more money toward direct service for the region.

The Montgomery-Floyd chapter, which until last Wednesday operated an office at 1000 N. Main St. in Blacksburg, has been annexed into the New River Valley chapter based in Radford.

Crews have worked this week to move files and equipment from Blacksburg to the Radford office, said Paula Downs, director of the New River Valley chapter.

The blood donor center at 200 Main St. in Blacksburg will remain open. The center is a Red Cross program but operates under separate administration, Downs said.

Officials with the nonprofit say the consolidation is an effort to eliminate duplicate overhead expenses with offices and to help strengthen the donor base for the region.

Tom Brown, regional executive for the Red Cross in Southwest Virginia, said it was a business decision to consolidate two administrative offices that were eight miles apart.

In today's economy it makes sense to consolidate the offices, which results in "having less money spent on administrative expense and more money spent on direct service," Brown said.

"It's not like we're leaving Blacksburg or putting them on the back burner. The services should increase because we have less overhead expense to worry about," he said.

The Blacksburg office did staff two full-time employees. One left the chapter for another job in August; the other position was eliminated when the office closed, Downs said.

The Radford office at 616-A W. Main St. has three paid positions. "Everything else we rely on volunteers," said Downs, who estimates that the agency has hundreds of volunteers.

The Radford office will now provide services to people in Montgomery, Floyd, Giles, Pulaski and Bland counties and the city of Radford.

Officials say the Red Cross, like other nonprofits, has seen a reduction in donations, which they think are tied to the struggling economy.

"We've got some donors that have been very dedicated to the Red Cross through the years. We just need to have a few more," Brown said.

In the meantime, he said the agency has been looking at its administrative structure and has worked to "make some efficiencies where we can and this was one of them," he said, referring to the office consolidation.

Brown, who works for the Red Cross office based in Roanoke, was at the Radford office Wednesday while that office was taking in equipment and files from the consolidation. He said he was unable to provide operational costs about the office Wednesday.

Downs adds, "We're a humanitarian organization that has to be and will be good stewards of the community's donations and gifts so we have to also have good business sense."

Downs said the Red Cross still stands ready to help the region.

"We'll continue to do what we do. We will grow our volunteer base and we also hope to grow our donor and support base," Downs said. "We know we have a lot of hard work ahead and we know that we're going to need to do that work without additional staffing."

"We hope the community is patient with us and we also hope the community is right there with us to help us serve one another," she said.