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Community Corner

Prince George's County Disaster Action Team Calls for More Volunteers

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2013-The Prince George’s County Disaster Action Team needs more volunteers. The Disaster Action Team (DAT) is a group of volunteers who provide the first response to calls requiring Red Cross assistance. They are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provide immediate relief in the form of food, shelter and clothing.

 

The Prince George’s DAT is divided into five sub-teams comprised of 12 to 14 volunteers each. However, there are currently only two to four volunteers on each sub-team. The Red Cross is looking to build the Prince George’s DAT with manpower to support every day emergencies in the community.

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Fires are the most common emergency in Prince George’s County. During 2013, 20% of the region’s total fires were in Prince George’s Country alone.  Last year, an incident occurred every three or four days and a total of 85 fires were recorded.

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Lennox Jones, Disaster Action Team Coordinator for Prince George’s County, is hoping to add volunteer staff to his team. “We’re looking for people whose desire to help surpasses their desire to be comfortable,” said Jones. 

 

He wants to use this time to train and staff the Prince George’s County team to be prepared not only for daily responses in the county, but for major disasters as well. 

 

Jones says, “People who would make great volunteers are those who’ve benefited from living in the county and are looking to give back to others who may be less fortunate at any given point in time.”

 

Those interested in volunteering for the Red Cross Disaster Action Team in Prince George’s County can contact chncrvolunteerengagement@redcross.org or call (703) 584-8444 for more information and to sign up.

 

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or follow us on Twitter at @RedCrossNCR.

 

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