case studies: American Red Cross of Central New Jersey

For the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, the events taking place half-way around the world are affecting the local community. Civilians need guidelines when the homeland terrorism threat is "high," local families of military personnel need support in communicating with and dealing without their loved ones, and the Red Cross’ need to streamline their channels of communication to make information immediate and accessible is paramount. The American Red Cross of Central New Jersey needed a web site that was easy to navigate, informed users of any emergency preparedness needed for the area, allowed visitors to register for courses and donate online. Their online course registration was unique because seating for each course was limited and available remaining seats had to be calculated and displayed as users registered. In addition, the system had to integrate with phone and fax orders, which were coming in at the same time.

Solution: Set Now created an easy to use, graphically pleasing, fast-downloading web site that is easily maintained by Red Cross staff.

The site is updated on a daily basis and gives site visitors the latest information they need for disaster preparedness. Set Now converted a VHS disaster preparedness video to web format so visitors can get the latest recommendations in a multimedia environment.

The public can register for courses and buy appropriate course materials through a secure online system. To centralize course registration, phone and fax orders are taken by Red Cross staff and input into a web-based registration system that utilizes the same database that site visitors use. Course seat availability is automatically calculated but Red Cross staff can over-ride seat availability or create new courses based on need. Red Cross staff can also print a variety of reports such as course attendee lists to provide to instructors, attendee payment information, and the amount of donations received through the web site.

Results: Since the new web site went live in February of 2003, thousands of site visitors have used the web site to register for courses. The centralized database maintains accurate course information and seat availability and successfully assists Red Cross staff in managing the number of participants for each course. The site also serves as a resource for disaster preparedness which is essential in our current political climate.

Please show your support and learn more about enhancing the quality and safety of your community by visiting the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey’s web site at www.njredcross.org.

"We encourage our guests to visit our site frequently for safety information relative to their communities, including weather alerts, weather safety tips and fire prevention." says Candie Hayes, Director of Communications & Development for Red Cross of Central NJ, "From a single site, a person can read recent news articles, register for health and safety courses, find out what’s happening in their own community, and learn how they can get involved by volunteering, giving blood, or making contributions."