Make a plan.
Get trained.
Be prepared.

It really is that simple. 

Volunteer Alexandria takes our role seriously to educate and prepare Alexandria's residents, schools, organizations, and businesses for all hazards, from as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. In partnership with the City of Alexandria's Office of Emergency Management, we raise awareness, recruit, train, and manage volunteers to be prepared and respond during these events. In the event of an emergency, we run a Volunteer Reception Center, which provides a central location where volunteers can go to assist with disaster recovery. 

Make a Plan!

Simple Family Preparedness is an excellent resource for well-researched, easy-to-understand articles and information and step-by-step guides to help busy families prepare for winter weather, everything from cleaning gutters and learning how to shut off water mains to checking supplies of batteries, food, and water, to treating your snow shovel with WD-40 to make shoveling easier! ACTIONS you can begin now while you have time so that in the case of a storm or severe weather event you will be as prepared as possible to mitigate the effects of or survive the incident.  check out the next steps.

Get Trained!

Emergency and Disaster Training comes in many forms, and can be as simple as taking a first aid class, or volunteering with an aid organization that trains you in their response program in your local community. 

Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) Training - The Volunteer Reception Center is staffed by a group of trained Volunteers and Volunteer Leaders to serve in a capacity to quickly register, train, and deploy new community volunteers during a disaster. This helps support disaster response and recovery efforts safely and efficiently. ​VRC training gives you the knowledge to be part of the disaster recovery in staffing the VRC when it is activated after a disaster. Find out about upcoming VRC trainings and opportunities.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training - The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates you to prepare yourself, your family, and your community to address hazards that may impact the City of Alexandria and to respond to emergencies.  Learn basic disaster response skills such as damage assessment after a disaster, triage and giving first aid to survivors, extinguishing small fires, performing light search and rescue, and providing much-needed assistance in times of crisis. To learn more and register, visit the CERT website.

Be Prepared!

Being informed is the best way to be prepared. Update and replenish your kits. Practice your plans, participate in new trainings to keep your skills active.

Sign up for Alexandria eNews or other alerts for information about developing weather threats in your area, and make provisions in case your connections are cut off or electricity is out for a prolonged period.

If you would like for one of our staff to do a presentation at your group or community meeting, please email us. We would be happy to work with you to do a meaningdul and relevant presentation or training. For more information and questions, email us.