Leading and Managing Disaster Volunteers

The Leading & Managing Disaster Volunteers (LM) training series teaches leaders within relief agencies and communities to effectively utilize a vital resource: community volunteers who spontaneously respond during a disaster. The three-module curriculum presents Volunteer Managers with three essential emergency preparedness models - spontaneous volunteer management, volunteer reception centers and organizational continuity planning - in order to enhance their current disaster response initiatives. A strong emphasis is placed on the integration and management of unaffiliated volunteers into community disaster response plans.

To date, LM trainings have been delivered in Oklahoma City, New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Illinois, North Carolina, and Bermuda.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

Leading and Managing Disaster Volunteers I (LMI) introduces participants to a suite of essential emergency preparedness concepts, including spontaneous volunteer management, volunteer reception centers and organizational continuity planning, that can enhance their current disaster response plans. Participants gain a greater understanding of the scope and range of plans available to ensure adequate preparedness, and how to preliminarily begin working toward creating an individualized plan for managing spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers in a disaster.

Leading and Managing Disaster Volunteers II (LMII) is a series of capacity-building workshops designed to better prepare official responder agencies and other organizations to collectively respond to emergencies and disasters. These workshops offer participants the guidance and tools to maximize organizational ability to function in a disaster through the creation of Spontaneous Volunteer Management Plans, Volunteer Reception Centers and Organizational Continuity Initiatives, respectively.

Leading and Managing Disaster Volunteers III (LMIII) is offered to professional responders and their community partners who are collaborating to bolster community resiliency and plan for the recovery phase of the “life cycle of disaster.” Working with the Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) model outlined in LMII, these leaders are taught how to transform their VRC into a Community Resiliency Center (CRC). Using the successful September Space model as a guide, a variety of effective resiliency building strategies are taught, giving participants the opportunity to work as a team in adapting the September Space model to their own community. The module also identifies how the collaboration can start to build resiliency within their community before a disaster strikes and an action plan to accomplish this. LMIII provides professional responders and their community partners with the guidance they need to modify existing infrastructure and create a framework for long term resilient recovery.

To learn more, email info@worldcares.org or call 212.563.7570 .