Volunteering With Us
Emergency preparedness and response is a highly coordinated effort that allows communities to maximize their capabilities during times of extraordinary disorganization and stress.
Because MRC volunteers already have specialized knowledge and backgrounds in health related fields, MRC training focuses primarily on learning local emergency and health procedures, trauma response techniques, use of specialized equipment, and other methods to increase the effectiveness of their volunteers.
Perhaps the most important part of your training will be learning to work as part of a team. An organized, well-trained MRC unit will be familiar with its community’s response plan, will know what materials are available for use, will know its response partners, and will know where its skills can be put to best use and in a coordinated manner.
Disaster preparedness drills will be scheduled throughout the year and information posted on the home page in the calender. We will also email information about upcoming training opportunities to you, so make sure we have your current contact information and check back frequently for the latest training opportunities so that you are ready when an disaster happens.
Our training page lists the 5 steps you need to take to prepare you for deployment. The initial steps of registering and training are described in more detail below.
How to Register as a Volunteer:
All volunteers must register online as an Santa Cruz County MRC volunteer with the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers Registry (DHV).
When you register, some of the information you will need to provide is:
- Contact information so that we can contact you for trainings or deployment
- Relevant training, IS100 and CPR, for example, so that we know that you are prepared for deployment
- Licensing information so that your credentials can be automatically and regularly verified
If you have questions or need any help with registering, please contact us at communications@sccmrc.com or Lora Bate at lorabate@sbcglobal.net.
How to Train as an MRC Volunteer:
- IS 100 is an online course that orients volunteers to the the incident command system, an organizational structure that allows volunteers and government emergency personnel to work together in a disaster. It is mandatory for MRC volunteers.
- Other training exercises and online courses are scheduled periodically and will be listed on our home page in the calendar. If you have any questions, please contact the training team at training@sccmrc.com.
- Additional training classes are available through the American Red Cross.
- Santa Cruz County MRC depends on the effort of a number of dedicated people to organize and train our 500 volunteers.You can help us in our mission by joining our Action Teams.