Volunteers are the backbone of disaster relief efforts across Colorado! Our first recommendation is always that individuals connect and affiliate with a COVOAD Member Organization. COVOAD organizations provide their volunteers with opportunities to serve, offer a variety of trainings, and often cover the necessary liability coverages. At the height of a disaster, VOAD organizations may be delayed in responding and onboarding volunteers, so we would also point individuals down to the resource below.
If a disastrous event has just occurred and you are looking offer your support, one of our partners, Spark the Change, manages our Colorado Disaster Volunteer Site – Colorado Responds
Just a friendly reminder to please BE PATIENT. You will be contacted once we have had an opportunity to assess the damage and identify unmet needs.
Seeing images of disaster may compel you to head to the impacted area. Don?t underestimate the complexity of working in a disaster area. Until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support, volunteers should not enter.
- Be sure to contact us before coming to the disaster area.
- Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified.
- Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task.
Be patient. Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster ? especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.