VERO BEACH — United Way of Indian River County and Indian River County’s Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) urges all Indian River County residents, Faith-Based Communities, Neighborhood and Civic Groups to participate in a three hour “Virtual Hurricane” Training Drill on Saturday, June 25. Please note: groups cannot sign up day of drill, they need to pre-register to participate in their own community or join United Way’s group at the United Way Center, 1836 14th Avenue in Vero Beach.
The goal of the “Virtual Hurricane” Training Drill is to assess the capability of neighborhood residents to work together to prepare for, respond to and recover from a variety of natural disasters which can affect the lives of neighborhood residents.
For neighborhood and community organizations planning to participate in one or several of the exercises it is recommended that a minimum of three individuals participate in the exercise working together as part of a disaster planning / response team. By working together as team you will be able to strengthen the disaster readiness and enhance the knowledge of neighborhood residents and / or the members of your organization on the roles they could assist with before, during and after a disaster.
“We have a responsibility to be prepared to meet the needs of this community. Preparation, communication, and coordination are essential to be able to respond quickly and effectively post-disaster,” stated Michael Kint, United Way CEO.
VOAD is issuing an invitation to all Indian River County neighborhood groups, associations and faith-based organizations to pre-register:
Citizen Corps
Community Based Organizations
Community Emergency Response Teams
Faith Based Organizations
Fire Corps
Medical Reserve Corps
Neighborhood Associations
Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams
Neighborhood Watches
Part of a National Effort
The “Virtual Hurricane” Training Drill is part of a national educational outreach effort put on by the Disaster Resistant Communities Group (DCRG). DRCG was established to provide a host of disaster planning and preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation services to local government agencies and departments as well as community and faith based organizations.
To ensure that all participants receive important situational awareness materials prior to the exercise as well as a Certificate of Participation at the conclusion of the exercise everyone participating in the exercise will need to register. If an individual is not registered they will not receive important e-mailed materials designed to ensure their participation in the exercise is successful.
To register your group visit http://www.onxsystem.com/?q=onx/ex/2428.
To join United Way’s Group, email Eve Ballance at [email protected] or call (772) 567-8900.
