ReadyMontco: Get Involved

Montgomery County, PA

P.O. Box 311, Norristown, PA 19404-0311
Courthouse Hours: 8:30a.m. to 4:15p.m.
Phone: 610-278-3000
Website: www.montcopa.org

Get Involved
After preparing yourself and your family for possible emergencies, take the next step: get training in first aid and emergency response and get involved in preparing your community.
 
Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Working with neighbors can save lives and property. Meet with your

neighbors to plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster until help arrives. If you’re a member of a neighborhood organization, such as a home association or crime watch group, introduce disaster preparedness as a new activity. Know your neighbors’ special skills (e.g., medical, technical) and consider how you could help neighbors who have special needs, such as disabled and elderly persons. Make plans for child care in case parents can’t get home.

 

Get Training

The American Red Cross offers a wide range of courses and gives people the skills to face emergency situations with confidence.  Visit your local American Red Cross chapter website for information on training courses offered. 

VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) is a collaboration of a diverse group of organizations and citizens trained to meet community needs should a large-scale natural or man-made disaster occur. As a VOAD volunteer, you will get training in disaster response and recovery including safety, mass care and shelter operations. There is also a full day of standardized American Red Cross training on First Aid, CPR, and AED.  Get more information and get involved.  Call 215-299-4054 or link to http://www.sepavoad.org/index.html.

Citizen Corps asks you to embrace the personal responsibility to be prepared; to get training in first aid and emergency skills; and to volunteer to support local emergency responders, disaster relief, and community safety.  For more information or to get involved visit www.citizencorps.gov to find your local Citizen Corps council.

 

Become a Volunteer

The Montgomery County Department of Public Safety and the Montgomery County Department of Health are seeking volunteers to assist the county during  a time of emergency. If faced with a large-scale public health or other emergency, local resources will quickly be exhausted. Public health entities and hospitals simply won't be able to sustain an effective response without your help.

 

We are developing a force of pre-identified, trained and credentialed medical, behavioral health and lay person volunteers for a variety of duties. Click here to complete our volunteer form and submit as indicated on the form [Para el español]. Our staff will be in touch with you to provide you with information regarding training and public health preparedness and response activites that will improve the health of our communities.

 

Helping others feels good, and helps you feel good about yourself. Your local Red Cross and other recognized volunteer organizations can work with you to provide rewarding experiences, opportunities to utilize your talents, or provide training to help you serve your community.

Before going to volunteer at a relief organization, hospital or disaster site after a disaster, wait for instructions from local officials.

 

Be patient. After a disaster, there are often many people waiting to volunteer. There may be a greater need for volunteers in the weeks and months after a disaster.

 

Make a Donation

Call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Español)

You can help by donating money to a disaster relief organization. They will know where help is needed and what kind.

Before donating any goods, including food or clothing, find out from local officials or the specific organization if they need your donation.  Sometimes, the cost to sort, package and distribute these types of donations to disaster victims is greater than the cost of purchasing the items locally. If you would like to discuss this type of donation, please contact your local Red Cross Chapter.