Over View for all Trainings

Disasters and emergencies are a part of every American’s life. In 1960, the United States government recorded a total of fifty major disasters, but in 2000 the number recorded grew to over five hundred that year alone. How we as citizens assess our own risk, prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies affects how society emerges as resilient responders rather than as victims. In addition, citizen and community preparedness affects how we approach the economic redevelopment of our homes, neighborhoods, businesses and, in some cases, our country.

World Cares Center’s (WCC) mission is to foster safe and effective disaster preparedness, response and resilient recovery within communities. To achieve its mission WCC trains both the community members who come out of their jobs and homes to help during emergencies and disasters, and the emergency managers who are tasked with managing disaster response including the spontaneous volunteers who have emerged from their homes and jobs. WCC’s curriculum is developed from experiences in the field and nearly a decade of research.

WCC works with youth, seniors, and average citizens to instill behaviors that prevent everyday emergencies from ever happening as well as lessen injury, death, and damage that follow any disaster by empowering citizens to be proactive responders in their own communities.

This “self empowerment” focus is very different from what our partner agencies do. In contrast and as a compliment to traditional volunteerism we prepare individuals to help each other and their communities from within their own buildings and neighborhoods rather than asking them to report to any offices before they can begin to help.

Through Disaster Preparation and Trauma Mitigation (DPTM), World Cares Center equips communities and emergency managers with the knowledge and resources needed for a safe, effective and integrated disaster response. When a disaster strikes, enormous resources freely offered from people, businesses and organizations descend on managers trying to coordinate official emergency response. Emergency managers find themselves dealing with these resources as the “disaster within the disaster” rather than the “force multipliers” they can be in relief efforts with proper training and coordination.

WCC’s DPTM Program works to bridge the service and training gap between Spontaneous Unaffiliated Community Volunteers (SUCVs) and official disaster managers. Opting not to affiliate with an official response agency, SUCVs lack access to information and services regarding emotional, social and physical preparedness and recovery. This directly contributes to their underutilization and mismanagement during an initial disaster response. In order to increase the efficiency of this vital community resource WCC created two unique training series for both SUCVs and the emergency managers who may lead them Grassroots Readiness and Response and Leading and Managing Spontaneous Unaffiliated Community Volunteers.

The Grassroots Readiness and Response training series empowers individuals to collaborate effectively with official emergency responders during times of disaster. This three-module curriculum teaches effective communication skills as well as resilience-building and self care techniques for first-time disaster volunteers. The series also introduces participants to such concepts as the life cycle of a disaster, the all-hazards approach to disaster management, and various organizational response systems, including Community Emergency Response Teams, the National Response Plan, the Incident Command System and the structure of federal, state and local emergency management agencies. Through this training, participants obtain the skills and knowledge needed to become “powerful volunteers” and to promote powerful volunteering within their communities.

The Leading and Managing Spontaneous Unaffiliated Community Volunteers training series teaches emergency manager, volunteer managers, public health officials and faith-based and community leaders the skills to effectively utilize community volunteers who spontaneously respond during a disaster. The three-module curriculum presents volunteer managers with three essential emergency preparedness models—spontaneous volunteer management, volunteer reception centers and organizational continuity planning—in order to enhance their current disaster response initiatives.

WCC provides training for governmental organizations including 20 offices of emergency management across America, the U.S. Military, CERT and MRC; The National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disasters, The International Association of Emergency Managers and private nonprofits such as YMCA of Baton Rouge; American Red Cross; New York Salvation Army; Lions Club International; and the Northeast Crisis Response Coalition. WCC also trains student volunteers from Columbia University, Fordham University, New York University and Metropolitan College.

To learn more about specialized training click on the links below: