In partnership with Sheboygan County Emergency Management, United Way of Sheboygan County’s Volunteer Center will be conducting a Disaster Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) Training on Friday, October 12th from 10 am to 2 pm. The event will be held at the Sheboygan County Health and Human Services building at 1011 North 8th Street in Sheboygan. Lunch will be sponsored by Festival Foods.
During a disaster, there are two types of volunteers: spontaneous and affiliated. Affiliated volunteers have a relationship with a volunteer organization, such as the American Red Cross, and have been trained and vetted. Spontaneous volunteers are unaffiliated and may not be trained, but may still have the skills, energy, and compassion to share after a disaster.
In the event of a disaster, any spontaneous volunteers who arrive at a disaster scene will be directed to the VRC, where they will fill out an application, be interviewed and screened, matched with a disaster volunteer opportunity, trained and fitted with a wristband before being sent back out to the disaster scene. The VRC is staffed by another group of volunteers. We are currently recruiting volunteers to join our VRC team.
The VRC training will consist of a lecture, where we will be discussing what happens during a disaster, what we do at the VRC and why it is important. The second half of the training will be a hands-on exercise. At the conclusion of the training, each participant will be asked to join the VRC team. Each VRC volunteer fills out an application, is screened and asked to attend future trainings. VRC volunteers are also asked to be available in the event of a disaster.
To register for the training, please visit uwofsc.org/volunteer, and click on “Volunteer Reception Center Training Event”. For more information, please contact Lee Anne Raleigh, Volunteer Center Coordinator at 920-458-3425 or leeanne@uwofsc.org.