CaliforniaVolunteers Mobilizes Thousands in Response to Southern California Fire

CaliforniaVolunteers.org connects volunteers to opportunities in affected areas

Responding to the need for volunteer assistance after the Fires in Southern California, CaliforniaVolunteers, in partnership with local volunteer centers and Citizen Corps programs, is mobilizing a volunteer force to help thousands of Californians affected by the disaster.

“The desire to help those affected by this tragedy has been remarkable,” noted Karen Baker, executive director of CaliforniaVolunteers. “The sheer numbers demonstrate the dedication of residents of our state to be there for fellow Californians.”

As announced by Governor Schwarzenegger, on Tuesday CaliforniaVolunteers launched a web portal connecting volunteers with opportunities to assist the disaster response efforts. More than 8,000 state residents have registered with local volunteer centers in the affected areas, and nearly 1,000 have deployed to affected locations to conduct donations drives, staff phone lines and other assistance activities.

More than 300 Community Emergency Response Teams members from throughout the state have responded and are providing evacuation and shelter assistance, donations management and emergency communications. More than 100 Medical Reserve Corps members are partnering with local public health authorities and the American Red Cross to provide shelter and medical assistance. The American Red Cross reports nearly 4,000 workers have responded to the disaster and nearly 3,800 volunteers have been trained and are deployed.

“Long after the fires are extinguished, volunteers will be crucial to the rebuilding of the lives of the victims,” noted Baker. “In the weeks and months ahead, I encourage Californians not affected by this disaster to find out how they can help.”

Interested volunteers should visit CaliforniaVolunteers.org to find opportunities to assist the affected communities. Individuals or organizations looking to make cash or in-kind donations to the relief effort should call 1-800-750-2858.

Alan Gray is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NewsBlaze Daily News and other online newspapers. He prefers to edit, rather than write, but sometimes an issue rears it’s head and makes him start hammering away on the keyboard.

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Alan has been on the internet since it first started. He loves to use his expertise in content and digital marketing to help businesses grow, through managed content services. After living in the United States for 15 years, he is now in South Australia. To learn more about how Alan can help you with content marketing and managed content services, contact him by email.

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Alan is also a techie. His father was a British soldier in the 4th Indian Division in WWII, with Sikhs and Gurkhas. He was a sergeant in signals and after that, he was a printer who typeset magazines and books on his linotype machine. Those skills were passed on to Alan and his brothers, who all worked for Telecom Australia, on more advanced signals (communications). After studying electronics, communications, and computing at college, and building and repairing all kinds of electronics, Alan switched to programming and team building and management.

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