Volunteer programs, part 4.6: Disaster Relief

Fri, 09/18/2009 - 15:18 | Sarah Palmer

Welcome to the final installment on the Volunteering Global series on the many types of international service projects and the groups that offer them.

Today’s topic: Disaster Relief

What’s involved?
Volunteers can sign up to be on-call or one-off participants for disaster relief projects, which help to provide preliminary and ongoing help after natural or manmade catastrophes. This can include debris cleanup, search and rescue, First Aid or other medical care, and preventative strategies (such as bracing shelters against hurricane wind damage).

On-call volunteers respond to emergencies as part of a larger listserv for alerts. For example, the American Red Cross maintains a database of individuals who have signed up to receive messages when they’re needed for disaster response. One-off volunteers are individuals who seek ways to help after an emergency already has occurred – such as some who signed up with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild damaged structures after Hurricane Katrina.

Who can go?
Volunteers should be in good health, and able to keep a level head during the emergency. Medical volunteers almost always are required at least to have First Aid certification. Many groups required on-call volunteers to attend trainings and other classes before they can begin receiving alerts.

Who can I go with?
American Refugee Committee - www.arcrelief.org
Bangladesh Work Camps Association - www.mybwca.org
Brethren Volunteer Service - www.brethren.org
Christian Appalachian Project - www.chrisapp.org
Common Ground Relief - www.commongroundrelief.org
HOPE International Development Agency - www.hope-international.com
International Rescue Committee - www.rescue.org
Rebuilding Community International - www.rebuildingcommunity.org
Relief International - www.ri.org
Samaritan’s Purse - www.samaritanspurse.org