Teresa Gardner-Williams, Mary Foley, Amy Ward, & Vernon Herron2009 Maryland Emergency Management Association Conference

May 27, 2009

Volunteer ManagementPartnerships:What We Can Do For You

Who we are Local volunteer centers

◦ Serving every county in Maryland◦ Private non-profit, internal to government, United Way ◦ Volunteer centers work in partnership and

collaboration with each other – locally, regionally, nationally

◦ Mobilize local resources to meet community needs◦ Low cost, high value services

What we do Training of managers of volunteers

National Days of Service projects◦ Make A Difference Day, Youth Service Day, MLK Day of Service

Specific local services and projects◦ The BIG Sweep, Volunteer EXPO!, Summer of Service, Student

Service-Learning, Business Volunteer Council

Recognition – local, state and national

Recruitment and referral◦ Registered community agencies◦ Registered community volunteers

www.1800volunteer.org www.HelpInDisaster.org

Our partners Governments

◦ Maryland Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives

◦ County Government◦ Municipal Government◦ Regional collaborations

Local nonprofit agencies, including VOADs Local schools & colleges Local businesses Individuals

Our Volunteers Volunteer: willingly provides services without

receiving financial compensation.

Affiliated Volunteer: affiliated with government agency or local organization and who has been trained for a specific role or function. Examples include VIPS, CERT, Red Cross, ARES.

Spontaneous Volunteer: comes forward, at times without being requested, following a disaster to assist a governmental agency or local organization with disaster related activities during the response or recovery phase. Also called convergent or unaffiliated volunteers.

How Local Volunteer Centers Support Emergency Preparedness, Response & Recovery Volunteer & Donations Management

◦ Maryland ESF 15, NCR RESF 16, Annex of National Response Framework

◦ UASI (NCR, Baltimore Area Work Group) Support Citizen Corps Programs, VOAD & local

organizations◦ Pre-affiliate volunteers◦ Recruit volunteers for exercises, drills and trainings◦ Provide training for managers of volunteers

Resource available to the local Emergency Manager◦ Communication with local residents◦ Included in local plan

Operation of Volunteer Mobilization Center/Volunteer Reception Center, if requested by Emergency Manager

Volunteer Reception Center (VRC)Volunteer Mobilization Center (VMC)

A model for managing spontaneous volunteers

Introduced by Volunteer Florida

Serves as a point of mobilization, registration and referral for spontaneous, unaffiliated volunteers who emerge in response to a disaster or incident

Make the best possible use of unaffiliated volunteers

Volunteer Mobilization Centers operate only at the request of the Emergency Manager.

Serve as a buffer between first responders and well-intentioned, unaffiliated volunteers.

Ensure that urgent community needs are addressed in a timely manner.

Lay the foundation to rebuild community.

Who staffs VMCs?

Members of the Volunteer Center Staff

Volunteer Coordinators from local non-profit and governmental agencies

Community Members trained in the process, procedures and paperwork of registering and referring spontaneous, unaffiliated volunteers

Select SUVs who appear at VMCs

VMC SampleFloor Plan

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Local VMC Operation Variety of emergencies At the request of the local Emergency

Manager Hours of operation Number of volunteers referred Value added to the community

Volunteers: Return on the Investment

Real results - measurable impactEach hour of volunteer work translates into the

current rate of $19.51◦ That figure can be used as “match” for grants or to

show the cost saved for the jurisdiction.

On Inauguration Day, there were over 1,400 volunteers working over 8,400 hours totaling over $165,000 of savings or services added◦ A real impact, value and/or savings can be

documented.

During one Day of Service – Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service – over 32,000 volunteers completed 130,000 hours of service which equals almost 2.5 million dollars in volunteer service to the city.

ExercisesPracticing trained skills as incident commander and first responders before the first responder community is able to arrive, as well as role playing for Police, Fire and Health Departments

Special EventsIndependence Day, Cherry Blossom Festival, and other small neighborhood street festivals where a certain number of CPR trained individuals are required before permitting is obtained for the event

EmergenciesMount Pleasant Fire, Inauguration, Water Main Breaks, Points of Distribution, Volunteer Reception Centers, etc

TrainingKeeping them engaged during non-emergencies and special events in order to build their skills sets in anticipation of being stood up or called out

Volunteers are helpful, flexible, cross-trained, and supportive.

Success in Prince George’s County Investment by County government Over 1,000 Citizen Corps Program

volunteers Participation in local events at request of

communities Response to local emergencies at request of

Emergency Manager Documented Return on Investment

Questions & Comments

Teresa Gardner-Williams, CVAExecutive DirectorPrince George's Volunteer Center, Inc.P.O. Box 187Hyattsville, MD 20781(301) 699-2800www.princegeorgesvolunteer.org

Mary FoleyExecutive DirectorThe Voluntary Action center9248 Center StreetManassas, VA 20110(703) 369-5292 ext. 203www.volunteerprincewilliam.org

Amy Ward, JDExecutive DirectorSERVE DC – The Mayor’s Office on

Volunteerism441 Judiciary Square, Suite 1140 NorthWashington, DC 20001(202) 727-7200www.serve.dc.gov

Vernon HerronPrince George’s CountyDeputy Chief Administrative Officer-Public

Safety Director/Homeland Security14741 Governor Oden Bowie DriveUpper Marlboro, MD 20772(301) 952-4812www.princegeorgescountymd.gov