Disasters happen every day in the United States. When a disaster strikes, it is the individual community that provides 90% of the response and recovery assistance. At the Disaster Preparedness department at FIRSTLINK, we work to engage many community groups in disaster preparedness. One community group we truly enjoy working with are the armed services veterans. The dedication of service to their country is inspiring. Service is a word we use often in this line of work, however, if a true definition of service is sought, the veterans are a good place to start.
For those in the veteran community organizations that are looking for civic involvement still, I challenge you to take part in your local emergency planning activities. Local Emergency Management agencies are always seeking volunteers to assist in Emergency planning exercises and disaster response assignments. A perfect way to get involved is to receive training on how to operate a Volunteer Reception Center (VRC). A VRC is a specific location designed to be a rallying point for spontaneous volunteers to report to assist in disaster clean up. Our veterans would be able to continue their service by registering and assigning volunteers to appropriate disaster response assignments.
If anyone, veteran or not, would be interested in taking part of a VRC training, sign up for the August 27 VRC training at the Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security agency (5300 Strawberry Farms Dr., Columbus, OH 43230) by emailing Lee Foster at lfoster@firstlink.org
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