If you have ever found yourself wanting to help in the aftermath of a disaster but were not sure how to get involved, please take a moment to explore these opportunities to become a trained volunteer before disaster strikes.

The best way to volunteer after a disaster is to affiliate with a reputable organization before a disaster; this will help ensure you are appropriately trained and supported to respond in the most effective way. There are several organizations who offer training in a variety of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery activities.

The following offers a few examples and is not an exhaustive list of the opportunities available at each organization.

• American Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Opportunities
  • Disaster Services: Provide food, shelter, comfort and care for families affected by major disasters such as fires, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes.
  • Disaster Action Team: Respond to single-family fires with a disaster action team supervisor.
  • Community Disaster Education: Educate individuals and groups on how to be prepared before a disaster occurs.
• Kansas KC Metro Animal Response Team
  • Mission: We are dedicated to building a strong, functional team of volunteers who can respond to the needs of pets at a time of disaster, and providing education within our community about the importance of disaster preparedness for pets.
• Kansas Agriculture Emergency Response Corps
  • The Kansas Agriculture Emergency Response Corps (KAERC) will be comprised of volunteers who will be trained and prepared to respond rapidly and efficiently to an agricultural emergency. KAERC volunteers will work alongside the Kansas Department of Agriculture in response and recovery situations.
• Community Emergency Response Teams
  • The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.
• The Salvation Army Disaster Relief Services
  • The Salvation Army offers training courses on their core disaster relief services such as canteen operations, donations management, emotional and spiritual care, and disaster social services.
• Kansas City Regional Community Organizations Active in Disaster (KC Regional COAD)
  • The purpose of the KC Regional COAD is to bring together community organizations at all levels who are, or desire to be, active in disaster, including relevant businesses and government agencies, to foster more efficient and effective services to people affected by disaster in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area through cooperation, coordination, communication and collaboration.

Currently we offer a paid summer internship that is targeted at college students at professionals transitioning into the emergency management field. The position is expected to open in February or March of 2020.

Opportunities are available throughout the year.

No. While certain projects may require the volunteer to be present in the office, many may not. Preference will be given to interns that can have a regular presence in the office.

All volunteers and interns will have to complete a screening process through Johnson County.