National Fire Safety Week

Members of Fairfax County CERT were at FEMA Headquarters as part of the National Kickoff for Fire Safety Week.

Here is a video of the FEMA Administrator taken during the event:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=131960896854421

Also don't forget to check out the Citizen Corps Volunteers facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps for additional tips.

What do Project Runway, Home Depot Tarp and CERT have in common?

Fairfax County CERT had an exhibit at the Capital Home Show (September 24-26 in Dulles, VA). TV's Project Runway stopped by the booth to model the dress made from a Home Depot tarp - clothes for any disaster.

Additional information about CERT at the home show can be found at http://fairfaxcountycert.blogspot.com

Scanners May Be Your Only Option To Know If Help Is On The Way

In CERT, we learn "Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. Factors as number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages will prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment's notice through 911. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs." (www.citizencorps.gov/cert/about)

You call 911 and you are unable to get through. How do you know if help is arriving and how bad is the situation?

One option is to find your local emergency agency on a scanner. The following website provides live feeds from across the country.

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/

For additional tips, visit http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps

National Preparedness Month - Volunteer Mobilization Exercise

Volunteers Needed: Emergency Preparedness Exercise

Individuals are needed Saturday, September 25, 2010 to act as mock emergency volunteers.

Volunteer Fairfax, the Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management, and the Fairfax County Health Department will be testing their Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) plans, which assign volunteers to the needs of emergency response and recovery specialists.

If you are interested in acting as an emergency volunteer for this event or would like additional information, please contact Volunteer Fairfax.

This exercise is also being done in coordination with other volunteer agencies in the region. If you are interested in participating but not local to Fairfax, please contact your local volunteer agency to see if they are participating or contact Volunteer Fairfax for a list of other participating agencies.

Our Blog and Facebook Page are a Ready.gov Coalition Partner are you?

Neighbors Helping Neighbors has been contacted by the FEMA Office of External Affairs to help share the "Emergency Preparedness" message on our blog for September.

"Greetings:

I am writing to see if I can interest your blog in a topic for September – emergency preparedness.

National Preparedness Month (NPM), sponsored by FEMA’s Ready Campaign, is a national campaign during the month of September to increase emergency preparedness across the U.S. I am currently reaching out to emergency and disaster-related blogs to ask for help in encouraging Americans to take steps toward preparedness. Slightly more than half of Americans say they have taken steps toward preparedness, and your blog would be a great place to encourage the rest to get prepared.

You can find information about the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month at Ready.gov, and I can provide you with additional information or answer any of your questions. This is such an important, yet often forgotten task, not just during National Preparedness Month, but year-round. We would be delighted if your blog would consider supporting preparedness.

Thank you in advance for your support,

... on behalf of
The Ready Campaign
Office of External Affairs
Federal Emergency Management Agency
npm@dhs.gov"

Readers of our blog, who have their own blog and facebook page, such as http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps should also spread this message of "Emergency Preparedness".

Fairfax County Declares September Emergency Preparedness Month

The Board of Supervisors designated September 2010 as Emergency Preparedness Month in Fairfax County.

Pictured above are staff from Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management and Citizen Corps representatives.

"Residents of Fairfax County are encouraged to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies by organizing an emergency supply kit; formulating a personal preparedness plan; becoming knowledgeable about various threats; and becoming involved in preparing their community." (Source: www.fairfaxcounty.gov).

In addition, "the Board of Supervisors designated Aug. 3 as National Night Out in Fairfax County. The Fairfax County Police Department sponsors National Night Out to promote the importance of community-police partnerships, neighborhood safety and public awareness of crime prevention programs."

Red Cross makes a difference at Ft. Belvoir

The American Red Cross hosted a Preparedness Kit-making event at Ft. Belvoir for military families.

Checkout the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFPbPTxxdS4

Additional discussions about National Preparedness Month can be found at http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps

What happened to all the volunteer coordinators?

Recently it seems like less and less volunteer newsletters and correspondence from non-profits are being received. Less communication across the board.

Communication that is received appears to be primarily through Facebook groups, with articles of national interest, not related to the local community.

Could it be the days of one-on-one communication is a thing of the past?

What could be the root to this?

Could it be the organizations are focusing more on corporations for major donations (to sustain their staff) with less focus on the volunteers?

Or could it be a lot less complicated? With the economy, we have seen many positions cut and staff turn-over (due to low salaries) at non-profits, along with a change of focus. Could it be that the non-profits can no longer afford to focus on the individual active volunteer?

Could it be that the people who were best at communication and working one-on-one with volunteers are no longer there?

Recently when trying to reach out to a volunteer coordinator, it was determined, she was no longer with the organization. When going to the website to see who the new contact was, no one was listed. You needed to re-register as a volunteer, for someone to contact you.

This does not make sense. When a staff member moves on, so do the volunteers? How can we avoid this and keep the momentum going with staff turn-over?

Solving the problem, if THERE IS a problem

The lesson here might be with a volunteer management system. Another Citizen Corps Affiliate organization has a volunteer registration system and when the staff member moved on, communication actually increased and the new staff member was very responsive to emails.

Another example, with a Citizen Corps core program where a few people moved on to other roles, that system maintained the list of volunteers, but communications has lessened. Hopes are that with National Preparedness Month just around the corner this will pick up.

In summary, good people help motivate good volunteers. When staff moves on, the volunteers shouldn't. Non-profits need to understand this is an issue.

Communication is key to sustaining the volunteer workforce. A very simple concept, but an issue that should not be overlooked.

Did Someone Say FREE Advertising?

So how can we expand outreach when our budgets are being cut? Did you know that many of the local papers offer free advertising for non-profit groups!

For example, the Washington Post Local Living Section:

"To submit an item E-mail fxliving@washpost.com, Mail: Volunteers, Fairfax Living, The Washington Post, 4020 University Dr., Suite 220, Fairfax, Va. 22030

Details: Items, published weekly on a space-available basis, are accepted from nonprofit groups."

To view comments on this, visit http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps

CERT Celebrate's Fairfax

Did you know that CERT will have volunteers at this coming weekend's Celebrate Fairfax?

Saturday night headliner is KC and the Sunshine Band.

For additional information about CERT's role, visit the Fairfax County CERT blog.

Large Scale CERT

CERT in Fairfax County is no small feet, but neither is a major disaster.

Over 50 students participated in a CERT Final Exercise this past weekend. There were over 100 "victims" who also were volunteers in the community.

The final exercise provided extensive hands-on training to the students at the old Lorton Prison Grounds and increased awareness for all the "victims". This was the first time the final exercise was not held at the fire academy.

Fairfax is Ready thanks to MRC Volunteers! Is Your Community?

Community Emergency Preparedness Fairs

"The Fairfax Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and the Fairfax County Health Department’s Office of Emergency Preparedness will host a community preparedness fair called Get Ready Fairfax!

The Springfield Days family festival will be held concurrently in the mall parking lot. The goal of this family friendly event is to educate the public about the role individuals and their families play in all-hazards emergency preparedness and how to get ready!

The fair is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - part of the Urban Area Security Initiative program." (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mrc/getready.htm)

Citizen Corps Releases New CERT Videos

Did you know that real CERT Volunteers were used in the recently released CERT videos?

Check out the videos filmed in the National Capital Region at:

http://citizencorps.gov/cert/videos/

And join the discussion with other volunteers on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps

Teen/Campus CERT Train-the-Trainer

This past weekend, Volunteer CERT Instructors in Northern Virginia completed the Teen/Campus CERT Train-the-Trainer Power Workshop.

Congratulations to the new Teen and C-CERT Instructors!

Thank you to Arlington County for hosting the training (and the creative candy dish idea, pictured above) and to VDEM for bringing the training to the area.

Now Easier To Find on Facebook

Our page can now be found on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/citizencorps

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Volunteers Sharing With Volunteers

Letter From ServiceNation - Our Citizens Voice Was Heard

As you know, we are hunting for the best new ideas for expanding national and community service in America.

I recently asked people like you to pitch in, and you did, in huge numbers. Reading through the many terrific responses, one suggestion really stuck out.

Andrew (Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Executive Director) from Virginia wrote, It is important to include volunteers in advisory and strategy sessions -- with some of the sessions focusing on the volunteers and what motivates them, and with less a focus in these sessions on politics and budget issues.

Andrew is absolutely right: we must harness your enthusiasm and creativity to help shape the future of national and community service.

So we're encouraging supporters like you to host and attend your own strategy meetings to map out the future of service in your own communities. These meetings are already being organized around the country -- click below to find one near you and RSVP to attend:

http://www.servicenation.org/page/event/search_simple

You can also sign up to host your own event, which can be as simple as a casual get-together with fellow volunteers, or as ambitious as you like. We'll provide you with all the materials you need to hold a productive meeting.

Click below to get started organizing your event: http://www.servicenation.org/page/event/create

The wide range of great ideas submitted over the past few weeks are proof that the future of service is very bright.

Many of you focused on the importance of teaching service in our schools, while others proposed changing the way service is funded, boosting (or limiting) government involvement in service efforts, reaching out to new communities, and much more.

These suggestions are still pouring in. They will be incorporated into the agenda for a similar
meeting we are organizing on April 21st in Washington.

Don't miss this important opportunity to make the future of service even brighter. Search for a meeting near you and sign up to attend: http://www.servicenation.org/page/event/search_simple

Or click here to host your own meeting: http://www.servicenation.org/page/s/bealeader

Yours in service,
Greg Propper
Executive Director
ServiceNation

Volunteers Provide Communications During WV Mine Explosion

Several weeks ago, we discussed volunteers being trained in the National Capital Region on ECRV 4703. The Red Cross Emergency Communications Response Vehicle, staffed by volunteers, provided vital communications during the recent mine explosion in West Virginia.

Detailed information about the response can be found on the Red Cross website.

Volunteers in the National Capital Area Complete Red Cross ECRV Training

(Source: ecrv4703.org)

Congratulations to the 11 volunteers who
recently completed ECRV Operator Training.
They join others who have completed
the 40 hour hands-on training program.

The American Red Cross Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) is "... among the first to arrive at a disaster area, and, without benefit of ANY local infrastructure (power, landline phones, cell phones, radio towers, etc.) deploy laptops and Internet Protocol (IP) phones, all connected to the American Red Cross network (by satellite), thus providing critical email, disaster applications access, and voice communications capabilities to those who are providing the initial disaster response.

In addition, the truck contains fourteen radios, all designed to fill specific communications gaps that are likely to occur in a large disaster. The truck also carries 10 cell phones that can be issued if cell service is available, and ten handheld radios to further facilitate communications between disaster workers." (ecrv4703.org) There are currently 12 ECRVs located across the United States.

If you are interested in learning more about the ECRVs and how you can train to deploy, in the Washington DC area,visit ecrv4703.org

For other locations and additional information visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECRV

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Recognized by Board of Supervisors

Certificate of Appreciation – "To recognize the Fairfax County Health Department, Medical Reserve Corps and appropriate representatives for the H1N1 vaccination clinics. Requested by Chairman Bulova."

Trailer Leads Way to Expand CERT Training

Pictured above, at the Capital Home Show, are Jack and Suzy Ledgerwood and Andrew Levy, Volunteer CERT instructors, during the public release of the Fairfax County CERT Trailer. The trailer was purchased with the assistance of a DHS grant.

With Fairfax County being over 400 square miles, the hands on CERT program had traditionally been taught at the Fire Academy, located in the north of the county. There had been requests to teach those living in South County. CERT 1 was created and enabled people to take the CERT course in South County, however, primarily classroom based. CERT 2, a hands on course could not be taught without getting the pallets, 2x4s, and other equipment to the training locations, in other parts of the county.

The CERT trailer will enable the hands on course to be taught in other parts of the county.

Additional information about the different levels of CERT courses (CERT 1, 2, and 3) can be found at www.fairfaxcert.org