ARC Disaster Action Team

"Treat all disasters as if they were trivialities but never treat a
triviality as if it were a disaster." - Quentin Crisp

While my wife and I have been Disaster Action Team members of the American Red Cross for many years, it was only yesterday that I saw a "job description" of the role. I thought this might be interesting to share...

DAT members assist the Red Cross in its mission to provide relief to victims of disaster and help prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Disaster Action Team members respond to disaster scenes during assigned times, provide relief (shelter, money & toiletry kit) by completing all ARC forms at disaster sites and provide referrals to other agencies. DAT volunteers must be able to respond at all hours or as scheduled with own transportation, be aware and conversant with diversity issues, and able to maintain confidentiality with clients.

Team members will learn: “Mass Care Overview”, “Fundamentals of Disaster Assessment”, “Shelter Operations”, and “Client Casework Providing Emergency Assistance”.

DAT volunteers are valued members of Red Cross relief services who make an impact on clients' lives. You will have the opportunity to enhance your personal organizational and leadership skills and to be trained in Red Cross emergency response skills. We ask volunteers to commit a minimum of six months. Once trained you may remain active as long as required training is up-to-date.

Bottom Line

If this sounds like something you'd like to do contact your local Red Cross. In addition to the Disaster Action Team there is also a need for volunteers to process the paper work and type it into computers, to organize blood drives, staff ARC tables at events, and give presentations to the community.