• As part of its continuing efforts towards a safer shopping experience, the company is launching the first free concession of its kind, where visitors can seek medical assistance Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• First aiders will be available to attend to anyone in need, with priority given to emergency cases.

• The new Red Cross station will also serve as a venue for an extensive range of training courses in areas including careers and job seeking, sustainable development and digital skills for older adults.

Madrid, 17 December 2021. Castellana Properties, a listed company specialising in the retail sector and committed to actively managing its portfolio, is pleased to announce that from today it will host the Red Cross’s first shopping-centre concession in Spain at El Faro, Badajoz.

Over the course of the day, the new space will be running a digital skills workshop for older adults and a careers event for young jobseekers. Visitors can get a close-up look at some of the vehicles used by the organisation to respond to medical emergencies, including an ambulance, motorboat and car. There will also be an exhibition on the valuable contribution of volunteer organisations and the role of women in the Red Cross movement. Meanwhile, a programme aimed at raising awareness of its work among young people will take place in Plaza de la Rosa, and the centre will be collecting toys as part of its festive campaign.

In keeping with Castellana Properties’ commitment to safer shopping, this ground-breaking new space has been made available to the Red Cross free of charge. Its trained professionals will be on hand whenever the centre is open – 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Saturday – to provide first aid to any visitor in need. Shoppers can turn to the Red Cross to attend to health emergencies resulting from accidents, illness, panic attacks or cardiac arrests until paramedics arrive.

The station will also offer education programmes in a diverse range of areas, including healthy eating, employability, careers and job seeking, social inclusivity, environmental issues, sustainable development and digital skills for older adults.

Julio Garcia, COO of Castellana Properties, stressed that the company is “always looking out for our visitors’ safety and well-being. That’s why we are so pleased to launch this particular initiative, a first for the sector – no other shopping centre in Spain currently offers its own Red Cross station. Over the next few months, we will be introducing a number of other new spaces to add value for our customers, while maintaining our usual stringent health and safety standards to ensure visitors enjoy the safest possible experience.”

Jesús Palo, President of the Spanish Red Cross in Extremadura, declared the El Faro station a qualitative leap for the organisation, thanks to its special focus on providing community training to expand local access to skilled jobs in sectors like technology and the digital transition. “The plan is to create a common framework for digital skills in the labour market, aimed especially at those working with vulnerable groups. We want to turn this time of uncertainty into an opportunity for transformation, and make sure that nobody is excluded from the heavily digitalised world we live in now,” he explained.


About the Red Cross

The Red Cross is the largest independent, citizen-led humanitarian movement in the world. For the last 156 years, it has worked closely with public and private bodies to ensure humane and dignified treatment for all, regardless of location or circumstances. Since the onset of COVID-19, the Red Cross has been active in every country where the virus is present, coordinating the greatest mobilisation of resources, skills and personnel in its history to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable and of society as a whole.

In Spain, the Red Cross has more than 250,000 volunteers and 1,400 first aid stations across the country. It provides assistance to over four million people every year, of whom more than 1.7 million take part in its social welfare programmes. Its work is supported by a membership surpassing 1,360,000 individuals, partners and sponsoring companies.

The Spanish Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements, active in 192 countries. Every aspect of its work is guided by its seven Fundamental Principles: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality.

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