National Preparedness Month Day 13--Volunteer

The way to learn survival skills and also learn how to function during a disaster is with hands-on training.  Note that this training doesn't often come during an actual disaster (in that case it would be called flying by the seat of your pants), however volunteering in your community will help you learn vital skills which will be useful during a disaster.  If you have the time--whether an hour a month or more--consider one (or more) of these useful volunteer opportunities:

• Scouts (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts)
• Red Cross
• Search and Rescue
• Ham Radio Club (ARES/RACES)
• Shooting Club
• Fire Department (volunteer as an EMT and/or firefighter)
• Department of Emergency Management
• Homeless Shelter
• Food pantry/free meal program
• Hospital
• FEMA
• CERT Team
• Public Health Department
• Medical Reserve Corps
• Public Parks/State Parks/National Parks
• Non profits (outdoor organizations, etc)
• Habitat for Humanity
• ESAR/VHP
• Citizen Corps
• Medical Response Teams (Mercy Corps, Doctors Without Borders, etc)
• Law Enforcement Reserve Program

10 Excellent Volunteer Opportunities

Looking for ways to spend your summer that will decrease your costs and increase your skills?  Look no further than the many volunteer opportunities that abound in your community.

1. Search and Rescue.  Many communities have Search and Rescue organizations that rely on volunteers to help those in need.  From people lost in the wilderness to helping search urban areas for runaways, this organization will give you a number of technical skills (wilderness search, camping, incident management, etc) that you can use in your everyday life.
2. HAM radio club.  Unfortunately HAM radio is, while still extremely useful, dying off in many areas, mostly because the club members are upwards of 70 and there are no younger folks to take their place.  HAM radio clubs are interesting, you learn a lot, and you can put your skills to use during a disaster by volunteering with ARES/RACES if needed.
3. Volksmarch club.  Again, like many clubs, the folks who have volunteered all of their lives are now "ageing out" and new blood is needed to keep these clubs going.  By joining a volksmarch club and volunteering your time and effort you will not only get in shape (they walk three to six miles or more each weekend) but you will also learn route-finding skills as well as organizational skills.
4. Red Cross.  Most communities have a Red Cross office which uses volunteers for all manner of lifesaving efforts.  From manning shelters to helping out at blood drives to teaching CPR, the Red Cross has a multitude of volunteer opportunities that will improve your skills and allow you to give back to your community.
5. EMT.  Many communities, both small and large, rely on volunteer first responders of the medical sort (namely EMRs--emergency medical responders--and EMTs--emergency medical technicians).  While the training may take a good bit of time in addition to drill nights and continuing education, the medical education and experience you will get with such a job will pay dividends for the rest of your life!
6. Firefighter.  This often goes hand-in-hand with volunteer EMTs, but again, many rural fire departments wouldn't exist without volunteers from their community that come when a citizen calls 911.  You will learn a great set of skills and the everlasting gratitude of those in your community.
7. Parks.  City, county, state, and federal parks are all at the mercy of government funding and, as you may know, funds for these sorts of programs have been dwindling rapidly.  Enter the volunteers who can make a difference in a park being open or closed.  Besides spending time in the outdoors, teaching community members about various aspects of the park, and helping out with programs that are critical to the community, being a parks volunteer can often score you free annual passes and other nice freebies.
8. FEMA.  When you see the aftermath of a disaster on the TV news, you will often see FEMA volunteers in the background.  While it isn't often glamorous work, volunteering to help out during a major disaster can be a rewarding and very educational opportunity.
9. Scouts.  Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Brownies, Eagle Scouts...scouting organizations have been around for ages and for many kids, the activities of these groups were their first experience in learning basic preparedness skills.  Adult volunteers are critical to keep this opportunity alive for kids who may have no other way to go camping, learn orienteering, learn to sew, learn about responsibility, learn how to tie knots, etc.
10. Gun Club.  Of course there are fancy (read--expensive) gun clubs around, but there are also many small gun clubs that are all volunteer organizations.  Volunteers are needed for everything from record keeping and running meetings to berm management and hunter sight-in events.  As an added bonus you often get free range time, opportunities to try out a variety of firearms, and the opportunity to learn a great deal about guns/gun handling from experts.

March Challenge #30 Giving Back

Today's challenge is to share some of the preparedness knowledge you have amassed.  Although some survivalists prefer to work in a vacuum, being a "lone wolf" so to speak, there are a number of reasons to share some of the preparedness knowledge you have acquired over the years.

By sharing some of your knowledge, whether by volunteering at the shooting range, becoming a Boy Scout leader, manning a booth at a HAM Fest, or volunteering with the Red Cross in your community, you will not only reinforce your own knowledge but you will build a better community in which to live.  There is often a huge gap of knowledge between the older generation (who knew how to do all kinds of things "the old fashioned way") and the younger generation (who are more often than not raised by single parents and may not have someone to teach them how to hunt and fish and do all kinds of other useful things).  There is also a large knowledge gap between urban and rural folks--one set who have a number of rural living skills and the other set who are more likely than not used to calling for help when they need to do, well, anything.

While some people would rather keep their knowledge to themselves, I, for one, find that the more people in the community that know how to do useful things (shoot safely and accurately, perform CPR, have their own stockpile of food and water for a disaster, can fix a car or plumb a house) the better the community is.  People who strive to be better and learn as much as possible are usually more responsible (it's good to have a lot of responsible people in your community).  These same people can share knowledge with you that you may not yet have, they can come to your aid in a disaster, and most importantly, they won't be totally dependent on others in the event of a disaster (a la the clusterf%*& that was Hurricane Katrina when a whole lot of people were not prepared and could do nothing to help themselves...social unrest follows and people die when this happens).  Perhaps most importantly, by working with people in a casual atmosphere, you will learn about them individually and know who you want on your survival team when TSHTF.

Your challenge today is to do something to help others be prepared for a disaster--from the simple and easy (like sharing information on reddit) to the long-term and in-depth (like volunteering for Search and Rescue or using your HAM skills to volunteer for RACES/ARES).

MLK Day and Helping Out Your Community

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day and part of the holiday involves doing volunteer work in the community.  While doing a day of service is a good idea, volunteering regularly in your community has a range of positive benefits--you get to help people in your community, you get to learn some valuable skills, you make friends, and you may even get some freebies and rewards for your service (ie: a free meal if you volunteer at a soup kitchen, etc).  Here are ten places to volunteer that will give you not only skills and the satisfaction of helping people, but other side benefits as well:

1. Your local non-profit shooting range (these places are usually staffed by a lot of volunteers and can often use any help you can provide).
2. Your local Search and Rescue group (these are often coordinated through city, county, or non-associated SAR groups and provide very useful training)
3. Your local Red Cross (this organization has offices in many communities and can almost always use volunteers)
4. Become an EMT (with a two month course, often free if you agree to volunteer, you will be able to provide a very needed service in your community; ask at your local fire department/ambulance company for details)
5. Become a volunteer fire fighter (many fire departments in rural areas rely very heavily on community volunteers; free training is provided)
6. Your local Department of Emergency Management (in addition to Search and Rescue, and sometimes in combination with it, your local Department of Emergency Management can often use volunteers to help with their programs and response efforts)
7.  Use your special skills to volunteer in your community (ie: HAM radio operators often volunteer with ARES and RACES, doctors volunteer with disaster response organizations, dentists volunteer their services at community health fairs, SCORE, VISTA, etc).
8. Use your non-special skills to help out at non-profits in your community (everything from domestic violence shelters to food pantries to free meals for the homeless to Habitat for Humanity can use volunteers--training is provided).
9. For longer term commitments consider becoming a Big Brother/Big Sister, a Boy Scout Troop leader, etc.
10. Volunteer to help people you have an affinity for (veterans, those in hospice, at a hospital, through your church, with the homeless, etc).

If You Want to Learn Some Skills and Give Back to Your Community, Consider Volunteering

I have always been the sort to volunteer.  From executive boards of non-profits to helping out at one-time events, there have been points where my weekly volunteer hours have eclipsed my actual working hours.  Volunteering is a great way to share your skills, learn new skills, help people in your community, and make your part of the world a better place to live.
If you are going to volunteer, however, consider volunteering with organizations that will teach/allow you to teach the skills that would come in handy during a disaster/survival situation.  Organizations you may want to consider include:

• The Red Cross
• Search and Rescue (Google your local town/county search and rescue)
• Department of Emergency Management (Google your local town/county emergency management)
• FEMA
• NecroSearch
• Master Gardeners
• Your local Volksmarch organization
• Your local HAM/RACES/ARES organization
• Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts
• Habitat for Humanity
• Be a volunteer firefighter (ask about this at your local fire station)
• National medical organizations: Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps, CMRT, etc.
• Your local shooting range (local ranges can often use volunteers and as an added benefit you usually get free range time)
• Volunteer Match (see what other volunteer opportunities are available in your area)
• Volunteer.gov (for even more volunteer opportunities)
• Local sports clubs (biking, hiking, backpacking, soccer, et al.  These clubs usually need volunteers and by participating in the sport you can stay in good physical condition)
• NAMUS

These are just a few of the organizations that provide important services to their community and can provide you a good opportunity to learn health/fitness/survival skills. You may also want to consider the Peace Corps, tutoring at your local school, helping out at one of the myriad non-profits in your community, volunteering at your local county fair, etc.