The American Red Cross of Nebraska/Southwest Iowa is holding a Mass Care Boot Camp for volunteers February 27th through March 4th.
Tina Labellarte, CEO for the American Red Cross’ Nebraska/Southwest Iowa region, says last year, volunteers responded to events in 46 states.
Because events can happen quickly, she says it’s important that volunteers are properly trained ahead of time. The Red Cross’ Mass Care Boot Camp offers training in a shorter period of time.
"When something happens, for example, like Joplin, the instinct is, “Oh, I wanna go.” Unfortunately, people are not helpful if they are not trained. And so we really try to encourage people year round to get ready. So this precedes the disaster season. We do not know where a tornado will land in April, May or June, but we know one will. And so we would be able to deploy somebody who has already taken the time to do this training in advance.”
The Red Cross responds to local events such as fires and national events like tornadoes or hurricanes. For more information on the Mass Care Boot Camp, the website is redcrossomaha.org.