American Red Cross USVI Chapter finalized today their Disaster Institute training, designed to freshen up on the volunteers’ skills and tools needed to respond in case of a disaster in this Hurricane Season. The training took place in the Head Start Multi-Purpose Center in Sugar Estate and consisted of different educational courses in a three-day period.
“Our focus is to empower our volunteers so that they can help and be of service to the community after a disaster,” said Lee Vanessa Feliciano, regional chapter executive for the American Red Cross Caribbean Region.
For three consecutive days, instructors from the American Red Cross were present to offer courses in this event. Some of the courses that the volunteers registered for were: Client Casework, Shelter Fundamentals and Disaster Frontline Supervisor. Also, during the training, the USVI Chapter Staff helped register and familiarize volunteers with the new Red Cross volunteer management system called Volunteer Connection.
“Volunteer Connection is a great tool that our volunteers have access to. Thru this system, we will know their availability to work on disaster and non-disaster related activities, they will be able to learn about upcoming educational courses and trainings and can constantly update their volunteer electronic record,” Feliciano said. Also, some educational courses were offered to Red Cross volunteers on St. John.
The U.S.V.I. Chapter has been very active in recruiting new volunteers to the organization as well as training non-profit organizations who play a key role in mass care. The chapter has over 200 volunteers registered and ready to help the community when needed.
To know more about the American Red Cross U.S.V.I. Chapter and how to help, call 778-5104 or 774-0375.