Newsline: Children's Disaster Services offers volunteer workshops in S. California, Indiana

From CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>
Date Tue, 8 Feb 2011 16:52:17 -0600

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl

Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

Children's Disaster Services offers volunteer workshops in southern

>California, Indiana

(Feb. 8, 2011) Elgin, IL -- Children's Disaster Services is offering two

volunteer workshops in March, one in southern California, and one in

>Indiana.

Children's Disaster Services is a Church of the Brethren ministry working

cooperatively with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide care for

children and families following disasters. The program has been meeting

>the needs of children since 1980.

A workshop on March 5-6 will be held in La Verne, Calif., at La Verne

Church of the Brethren (2425 E St.). The local coordinator is Kathy

Benson, 909-593-4868. Cost for attending the workshop is $45 (going up

>to $55 after Feb. 25).

A workshop on March 18-19 will be held in Goshen, Ind., at Goshen City

Church of the Brethren (203 N. 5th St.). Local coordinators are John

Sternberg 574-612-2130, and Betty Kurtz 574-533-1884. Cost for

attending the workshop is $45 (going up to $55 after Feb. 12).

Volunteers with Children's Disaster Services provide a calm, safe, and

reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos that follows disaster by

setting up and operating special child care centers in disaster locations.

Parents are then able to apply for assistance and begin to put their lives

back together, knowing their children are safe.

In recent years, Children's Disaster Services volunteers spent some

12,000 hours caring for thousands of children affected by flooding and

ice storms in the Midwest, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, a Metrolink train

accident in southern California, and California wildfires. A Critical

Response Childcare Team provided care for families of airplane crash

victims following the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in

which 50 people were killed near Buffalo, N.Y.

Information learned at this workshop can be beneficial to anyone working

with children. The workshop trains participants to understand and respond

to children who have experienced a disaster, recognize fears and other

emotions children experience during and following a disaster, and learn

how child-led play and art mediums can start the healing process.

Participants will experience a simulated shelter, sleep on cots, and eat

simple meals. Once training is completed, participants have the

opportunity to become a certified volunteer by providing personal

references and a criminal and sexual offender background check.

Although many volunteers are motivated by faith, the workshop is open to

>anyone over 18 years of age.

The Children's Disaster Services office may be contacted at

cds@brethren.org or 800-451-4407 ext. 5. Go to

www.childrensdisastercervices.org for more information about the program.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to

continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out

its faith in community. It is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith

traditions and is one of the three Peace Churches. It celebrated its 300th

anniversary in 2008. It counts close to 125,000 members across the US and

Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Dominican

>Republic, Brazil, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>CONTACT:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

>Director of News Services

>Church of the Brethren

>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

>800-323-8039 ext. 260

>cobnews@brethren.org