8/23/2006:
SHELTER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Seeking help for Louisiana – While the rebuilding work continues across the Gulf Coast, hundreds of thousands of people are living, along the coast in travel trailers and other temporary housing which is extremely vulnerable to storms – even those with only tropical storm force winds. This is especially true in Louisiana. In the event of a storm, evacuees would seek shelter in numbers that exceed the capabilities of Red Cross units in that state. In response to this and at the request of the Federal Government, the American Red Cross is seeking to establish a dedicated reserve of 5,000-7,000 trained and registered volunteers, pre-organized into teams and ready to mobilize via chartered aircraft. The teams would commit to exclusive availability for Louisiana shelters during the current hurricane season only.
YOU Can Help – Last summer and fall we were all moved by the terrible devastation of Katrina. Many people stepped forward to train and assist in disaster relief. Whether or not you participated in training last summer we hope that you will to help now. Your willingness to train and be "on-call" for Louisiana sheltering is vital to Red Cross response capability.
What You Need to Volunteer
If you are interested in becoming a Shelter Team volunteer, you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Be able to travel within 24 hours of notification.
- Commit to a minimum two week deployment
- Pass a background check.
- Be in good physical condition
- Be able to lift 50 pounds
- Attend a 5 hour shelter operations and pre-deployment training.
What We Need to Register You
If you meet and agree to the above conditions and wish to proceed to the next step in the volunteer registration process, email and provide us with the following information:
- Name
- Mailing address
- Daytime phone number
- Alternate phone number
- Email address
- Tell us if you have already received Red Cross shelter training and, if so, when.
- A list of any medical licenses you have attained
- Dates you are available to deploy from now through November (i.e. two consecutive weeks anytime in September, first two weeks of October, etc.)
- Any supervisory experience (please specify in what capacity)
- Other special skills (catering experience, warehousing, special driver’s license, etc).
If you would like to assist locally, please email the days and times you are available.
Thank you for your willingness to help our neighbors along the Gulf Coast. Please be patient and flexible as we work together to keep people safe this hurricane season. It is possible, and hoped for, that we will not have need to deploy volunteers for this project, or that we may not need to deploy all volunteers expressing an interest. It is important to remember that you have helped in a significant way simply by agreeing to serve and keeping the Red Cross’s response capability strong.
Thank you.
Required Registration Documents
You must register by email, following the instructions above. Once you receive confirmation, download and complete the forms below and bring them with you to your training session
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