American Red Cross Teams with Volunteer Centers for Disaster Response

By Miriam Parel and Dana Theus

On March 28, 2007, the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network and the American Red Cross signed a Memorandum of Understanding securing a cooperative relationship between the national and field offices of the two organizations, with a special emphasis on preparing for and responding to disaster situations.

As a product of this relationship, the Red Cross will actively promote Volunteer Center services to their local chapters, encouraging them to connect with, and use the resources of, their local Volunteer Centers. The Red Cross has expressed a specific interest in the following services: volunteer intake during disaster (Volunteer Reception Centers), volunteer management training, volunteer recruitment and 1-800-Volunteer.org.

As a leader in managing spontaneous volunteers during disasters, the Red Cross looks to the Volunteer Center National Network as a critical partner in fulfilling its statutory mandate. This relationship also sets the stage for the two organizations to begin to identify ‘effective practices’ already at work in the field where the networks work well together in disaster services.

The plan is to bring together Volunteer Centers and their local Red Cross Chapters to help identify the elements that makes these relationships most effective. The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network and the Red Cross will disseminate this information, once gathered and vetted by the field, to both networks in the hopes of encouraging local conversations and partnerships.

If your Volunteer Center is interested in participating in this ‘effective practices’ exercise, please contact Miriam Parel at mparel@pointsoflight.org.