VOAD Advantage - July 8, 2008
Mike Studebaker
I’m still busy with the fires up north…
However, I still plan to attend our VOAD meeting this coming Thursday at 3PM, located at the 6215 River Crest Drive, Suite B…The United Way.
We are still working on the agenda. Any suggestions… Most likely we will discuss training for the EOC, meeting in functional groups, and establishing COAD(s). (Encouraging words...)
One discussion item that I am thinking about bring up is responding to disasters in tough economic times. The cost of gas is eating away at the involvement of my volunteer base. I alluded to this in my last e-mail. Anyway, I am beginning to observe consequences of this fact. As an agency, we are only as strong as we are locally. Our response in Butte County is better than Santa Cruz County because our local volunteer base is stronger in numbers and involvement.
Can this observation be true of VOAD(s)? As gas prices rise and economic conditions worsen, can we be assured of assistance from abroad? (Yes, possibly in the case of national media exposure to some great calamity.) However, what if the situation doesn’t capture that level of attention and sympathy? We may be on our own to a large degree. This may be an argument for a strong local VOAD. What do you think?
Please come with your enthusiasm, input and possibly a potential new member. (I am making some headway with Temple Bethel in getting some Jewish representation.)
I have been getting some requests to be put on the e-mail distribution. Currently, I need them to go to googlegroups.com and search for Riverside County VOAD to join this group and receive the e-mail. Tes did tell me that I now have the ability to invite people to join the e-group. However, I haven’t had the time recently to administer this as I should. Please forgive me.
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