Red Cross Recruiting Disaster Volunteers on Maui

Red Cross, Maui. File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

The American Red Cross is currently recruiting disaster volunteers on Maui, with a series of training classes available next week in Wailuku.

The complete series of classes is offered free of charge and is required for new volunteers.  The schedule includes the following dates times, and course descriptions:

• Disaster Services, An Overview: Thursday, April 10, 2014, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Shelter Fundamentals: Friday, April 11, 2014, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Disaster Assessment Basics: Saturday, April 12, 2014, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Disaster Action Team, An Orientation: Saturday, April 12, 2014, from 12:30 to 4 p.m.

All classes will be held at the ILWU Local 142 Hall, located at 896 Lower Main Street in Wailuku.

“One critical piece in preparing our communities for disasters before they occur is having trained volunteers on standby and ready to respond,” said Michele Liberty, Maui County Director, Hawaiʻi Red Cross in a press release statement.

“We encourage new volunteers to join the Red Cross ohana and support our mission of helping those in need,” said Liberty.

The first step to becoming a Red Cross volunteer is to register online at: www.redcross.org/hawaii (click on “Volunteer” and “Becoming a Volunteer” on the left menu).

Once applications are completed, the Red Cross will contact interested individuals about signing up for basic disaster classes. More information is available by calling the Maui office at (808) 244-0051.

Similar training sessions were offered to residents in the East Maui community of Hāna in August of 2013.

The Red Cross is a non-profit organization that provides assistance in meeting immediate emergency needs during and in the aftermath of disasters.

A Red Cross worker from Maui was among a short list of volunteers from Hawaiʻi that deployed to Snohomish County in Washington to assist with response to a deadly mudslide last week.

Trina Shepherd, a volunteer from Maui, was deployed to assist in disaster mental health services and was among four volunteer workers in the state that were sent to help.