 No community within North Carolina is immune to the havoc and devastation caused by a disaster, whether natural or man made. There is one element that often poses challenges: unaffiliated or spontaneous volunteers. These volunteers, many of whom are untrained, are eager to respond and contribute to the community’s recovery. They often arrive on-site in numbers too great for emergency management or disaster relief agency staffs to manage as they are already trying to meet the immediate needs of communities affected by the disaster.
Partnering with Volunteer Centers, AmeriCorps programs, Community Emergency Response Teams, and other community volunteers, the Commission provides training and guidance for managing spontaneous volunteers in disasters. After a disaster, Volunteer Reception Centers or Emergency Volunteer Centers may be opened for spontaneous volunteers to visit to be matched with an opportunity to help.
The Commission strongly encourages volunteers to become affiliated with, and trained by, a voluntary relief organization prior to disasters occurring. For a list of the voluntary organizations that respond to disasters, please click here.
If volunteers are needed in North Carolina after a disaster, the Commission will provide a message to the media that will include instructions on how volunteers can register to help.
For additional information about volunteers in disasters, the following publications are available:
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