[Press Release] : Disaster volunteer drill scheduled for June 26

[Press Releases]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2008

CONTACT: Leigh Britt
Volunteer Coordinator
(573) 874-7504 or 
Deidre Wood
Public Information Specialist
Columbia/Boone County Health Department
(573) 874-7632

Disaster volunteer drill scheduled for June 26	
							
	(COLUMBIA, MO) - The public is invited to participate in a drill
of a Volunteer Reception Center on Thursday, June 26. The drill will
open with an overview of the role of volunteers in disaster at 3 p.m.
followed by a drill from 3:30 to 6 p.m. The drill will be held at
Parkade Baptist Church, 2102 N. Garth Avenue.
	“Volunteers play an important role in responding to
disaster,” said Leigh Britt, volunteer coordinator for the city of
Columbia. “Managing those volunteers is key to using their time and
skills efficiently.”  
	The purpose of the drill is to practice and test the
community’s management of spontaneous volunteers in the event of a
disaster. Using a hypothetical situation, volunteers will register, be
interviewed and placed, and then receive identification and training for
a position in response to disaster.  
	Any community member is welcome to attend the drill; an RSVP is
not required. Participating for all three hours is not necessary but
volunteers should commit a minimum of 30 minutes. Members of the public
may serve as a volunteer or as a staff person in the Volunteer Reception
Center.
	Several city departments and local agencies are helping arrange
the drill, including the city’s Office of Volunteer Services, the
Columbia/Boone County Health Department, the Columbia/Boone County
Office of Emergency Management, Columbia Public Works, the Voluntary
Action Center, Heart of Missouri United Way, RSVP, the Boone Co. Chapter
of the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. 
	To learn more about the drill, contact the city of Columbia’s
Office of Volunteer Services at 874-7499 or volunteer at GoColumbiaMo.com.


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