-Post by Mat Morgan, Red Cross Youth

Hurricane Gustav, as with the large hurricanes that have preceded it in recent years, raised an important question to chapters in disaster-prone areas:

How can we successfully involve our youth volunteers in preparedness and response?

Youth and young adult volunteers constitute almost 1/3 of the organization’s volunteer base. (That’s roughly 190,000 volunteers.) Aside from our sheer volume, we offer a number of unique skills to strengthen service delivery throughout the organization. However, chapters are sometimes concerned about the legal implications of involving youth or are unsure about how to best utilize them.

On our youth site, redcrossyouth.org, we are in the process of compiling resources to help youth volunteers and advisors address issues like this. Check out our comprehensive Youth in Disaster guide! With resources like these, we can leverage the exceptional experiences of chapters like Martin County, FL to demonstrate the added value of youth involvment.

How do your youth volunteers help in your local disaster preparedness and response?

Filed under: Disaster Response, Preparedness