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Current Responses

National VOAD members and partners are coordinating to ensure effective response to disaster. We are also working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in order to ensure we are doing everything we possibly can to assist in the response to COVID-19, and to respond to communities affected by disaster as safely as possible. Click here for a full list of National VOAD members that would benefit from a cash donation to support their response.

If you are an organization or an individual looking to respond in your community, please do not begin operations without contacting the State/Territory VOAD, and please follow all CDC recommendations. Click here to connect with your State/Territory VOAD.

Donate

While all donations are appreciated, CASH IS BEST. Our members are fully-vetted, experienced, and dedicated professionals who will get the most out of your generous donation. If you wish to make a financial donation, please select a National VOAD member here.

Do not send or bring unsolicited donations. In the early stages of the response phase, most organizations are unable to accommodate any material goods. Unsolicited donations create a challenge of storage and sorting when focus is needed on response and recovery.

Cash offers voluntary agencies the most flexibility in obtaining the most-needed resources. Many charities specialize in providing relief in disaster areas, yet they face significant financial barriers to getting their staff, equipment, and supplies into impacted areas.

Your donation helps put experienced disaster responders on the ground, and gives them the tools they need to help survivors recover. Organizations typically prefer cash donations because they allow organizations to:

  • Purchase food, water, medicine, and equipment from secure and familiar supply chains
  • Buy materials locally. This can help rebuild the local economy
  • Conserve resources. Money is always necessary and cheap to send, but the cost to ship material supplies can be expensive.
  • Remember, material supplies such as used clothing, miscellaneous household items, and mixed or perishable food require helping agencies to redirect volunteer labor away from providing direct one-on-one assistance to sort, package, transport, warehouse, and distribute items that may not meet the needs of disaster survivors.

Volunteer

National VOAD members respond to disasters in the United States and around the world. Register with a National VOAD member to volunteer. Find a complete list of National VOAD members HERE.

Just a friendly reminder to please BE PATIENT. You will be contacted once we have had an opportunity to assess the damage and identify unmet needs.

Seeing images of disaster may compel you to head to the impacted area. Don’t underestimate the complexity of working in a disaster area. Until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support, volunteers should not enter.

  • Be sure to affiliate with existing voluntary organization before coming to the disaster area, and that organization has been asked to respond.
  • Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified.
  • Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task.

Be patient. Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster – especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.