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From left are: Bill Bender, Chapter Chair of American Red Cross of Lackawanna County; Alex Kelly, Board Member.

From left are: Alex Kelly, Board Member; Gary Drapek, President and CEO of United Way of Lackawanna County; Bob Cherundolo, CEO of American Red Cross of Lackawanna County; Mayor Christopher Doherty; Tom Noone, Board Member and Bill Bellucci, Board Member.

Photos courtesy of Guy Cali Photography

The Scranton chapter of the American Red Cross and the Carbondale/Forest City chapter merged on July 1 to form the American Red Cross of Lackawanna County. According to the American Red Cross, the merger allows the combined chapters to serve more people in a more cost effective manner.
At a celebration picnic held Tuesday, July 22 on the front lawn at 545 Jefferson Ave. Scranton, it was announced that while the actual services provided by the combined chapters remain unchanged, the merger causes a variety of internal improvements. With its improved coverage area, the Red Cross of Lackawanna County can now draw from a larger amount of possible monetary and blood donors and these donations will now go to one central reservoir. Both of the Scranton and Carbondale Red Cross buildings will remain open and unaltered. Also, all of the current employees are being retained, and almost all will remain in their positions.
However, the executive branch of the united chapters has undergone some restructuring, according to Meghan Cravath, on behalf of the Red Cross. The CEO of the Carbondale chapter, Tom Noone, voluntarily retired from his earlier position and is moving into a new position on the Board of Directors. The other two positions of this board will be held by Bill Bellucci and Alex Kelly. Bob Cherundolo, the former CEO of the Scranton chapter, will be taking the position of CEO of the Red Cross of Lackawanna County. Also, the previous members of the Board of Directors of the Carbondale chapter have become the Advisory Committee of the branch office.
The American Red Cross of Lackawanna County will cover 40 zip codes, which translates into over 233,000 people. The new chapter’s coverage includes all of Lackawanna County, and even extends into some of Susquehanna and Wayne counties.