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E-News

Vol. I, Issue 4 (April 25, 2002)

April 21-27 marks the 29th annual National Volunteer Week, a time to recognize and celebrate the efforts of people like you, who donate their time and expertise to improve and protect their communities. The ranks of volunteers continue to grow as the programs of Citizen Corps begin to get underway in communities around the country. As of April 22, the ranks had swelled to more than 30,000 volunteers. By celebrating the volunteer spirit, we can show the world that, for our country --particularly in light of the Sept. 11 disasters-- helping is healing.

In This Issue:

News You Can Use: President Bush Lauds Nation's Volunteers
On Monday, April 22, President Bush traveled to the Adirondack Park in upstate New York to observe Earth Day, which coincided this year with the beginning of National Volunteer Week. The President highlighted the important work volunteers do on environmental conservation projects across the country and the importance of every American taking personal responsibility for protecting and enhancing their local environment.

During his visit, the President worked on a trail maintenance project on the Au Sable River Trail with the Adirondack Council, the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks and AmeriCorps volunteers working with the Student Conservation Association. His participation highlighted the role individual action plays in environmental conservation.

More than 200,000 volunteers work on Department of Interior lands each year -- three volunteers for every Department of Interior employee -- and thousands more contribute to other federal, state, local, tribal and private conservation efforts.

More than 19,000 Senior Corps volunteers work on 2,600 environmental projects each year -- dedicating an average of 1 million hours annually to environmental activities. And, this year, more than 6,000 AmeriCorps members are working on 150 national and local environmental projects.

At the start of the week, the President issued a proclamation (available on www.whitehouse.gov) calling on Americans to join together to celebrate the "vital work that volunteers perform every day across our country."

Ask Citizen Corps

My daughter and I want to participate in a meaningful way in Citizen Corps. How do I find out if my community is participating?

We applaud you for making this a family endeavor. People of all ages can get involved in Citizen Corps. (The contribution of young people is being honored this year April 26-28, National Youth Service Day.)

To date about 50 communities have started Citizen Corps Councils to manage all Citizen Corps activities at the local level. Check www.citizencorps.gov/citizen/cc/listCouncil.do?submitByState to see if your community has formed a council. If it hasn't, see the guide on how to form one at www.citizencorps.gov. Contact your local elected official (mayor, council member or county executive) to express your interest in having Citizen Corps in your community and to find out what activities may already be underway. Is there a Neighborhood Watch program or a Community Emergency Response Team? If so, find out how to join those efforts. Contact your local law enforcement agency to see if they have a need for your skills on a volunteer basis. And by all means, contact existing volunteer organizations in your area to see how you can best serve to strengthen your community to meet present and future needs.

Another source available in your search volunteer opportunities can be found on the USA Freedom Corps web page at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.

Got a question you'd like to see answered in CC E-News? Email us at AskCitizenCorps@fema.gov. Although we cannot answer every e-mail individually, we now have a section on the Citizen Corps Web site that answers the most frequently asked questions, www.citizencorps.gov/ready/faq.shtm.

What's Happening At...

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Recognizing that appropriate training is key to developing volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units, the Office of the Surgeon General at HHS brought together an internal expert working group to identify performance standards and education and training opportunities to help raise the capacity of MRC volunteers. An example of this type of training was seen at the annual National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) conference, which was held in Atlanta the week of April 14. Designed to target first responders, this conference included personnel across the spectrum of disciplines that may be involved in disaster response. For information on the NDMS conference, click on http://ndms.dhhs.gov.

Department of Justice
To find out how Neighborhood Watch has been expanded to include the fight against terrorism and what each citizen can do in his or her community to join in this grassroots effort, go to www.usaonwatch.org for a list of upcoming live interviews conducted by the National Sheriffs Association (NSA). Programs in April provided information on how one Minnesota county will change as a result of the program's expansion and what role the NSA plays in Neighborhood Watch.

Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA, in partnership with the UPS Foundation and the Points of Light Foundation, convened the National Leadership Forum on Disaster Volunteerism on April 16 - 17 in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the forum was to assemble a broad array of experts in volunteerism to discuss the best practices and lessons learned in disaster volunteerism, particularly in light of September 11. The attendees -- experienced representatives from voluntary organizations active in disaster response, the first responder community, the private sector, all levels of government and Freedom Corps-- focused on what steps can help the public better understand how to help prepare for and prevent disasters as well as responding to and recovering from them. Forum speakers encouraged the participants to be creative and collaborative as they worked to identify new strategies to address disaster response volunteerism.

More than 100,000 users have visited the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) Web site in the past week to download the student manual, view the directory of CERT training programs by state or get answers to their questions on the FAQs listed there. Visit the site at www.citizencorps.gov/programs/cert.shtm

Visit the websites of Citizen Corps partners: Department of Justice, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, USA Freedom Corps