Newsline: Children's Disaster Services schedules Spring training workshops

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl 
Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

Children's Disaster Services schedules Spring training workshops

(Feb. 9, 2012) Elgin, IL -- Several volunteer workshops are sponsored this 
March and April by Children's Disaster Service (CDS), a ministry of the Church 
of the Brethren that cares for children and families following disasters 
through the work of trained and certified volunteers.

Since 1980, CDS has met the needs of children by setting up child care centers 
in shelters and disaster assistance centers across the nation. Specially 
trained to respond to traumatized children, CDS volunteers provide a calm, 
safe, and reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos created by natural or 
human-caused disasters.

The volunteer workshops offer training in care for children who have 
experienced disasters. Hosted by local congregations, the workshops also offer 
participants a taste of living conditions in disaster-affected areas as they 
sleep overnight in church facilities. Once participants complete a workshop and 
undergo a rigorous screening process, they may apply for certification to serve 
with CDS as a volunteer. Although many volunteers are motivated by faith, CDS 
training is open to anyone over 18 years old. 

Cost is $45 for early registration (three weeks prior to start date). The fee 
includes meals, curriculum, and one overnight. Cost for registrations mailed 
less than three weeks in advance is $55. The retraining fee is $25. 

Workshops are limited to 25 participants. CDS encourages early registration, as 
registration numbers are used to assess whether to go ahead with workshops when 
there may be low attendance. A Volunteer Workshop Registration Form in pdf 
format is available at www.brethren.org/cds . 

Following are dates, locations, and local contacts for the Spring workshops:

-- March 9-10, Thoburn United Methodist Church, St. Clairsville, Ohio (contact 
Linda Hudson, 740-695-4258).

-- March 9-10, Dallas Center (Iowa) Church of the Brethren (contact Carol Hill, 
515-677-2389 or 515-240-6908).

-- March 16-17, Snellville (Ga.) United Methodist Church (contact Mike Yoder, 
404-597-2137, or Carrie Yoder, 770-634-3627).

-- March 16-17, New Carlisle (Ohio) Church of the Brethren (contact Rita Lane, 
937-845-2066 or 937-657-7325).

-- March 16-17, South Haven, Minn. This is a special workshop in conjunction 
with a United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Disaster Response Academy (March 
14-17) at the Koinonia Retreat Center. Fees are as follows: Disaster Response 
Academy and CDS workshop $170-$200; CDS workshop only (five meals plus lodging 
Thursday and Friday) $95 if registering by Feb. 8 or $105 after that date; CDS 
workshop only (four meals plus lodging Friday night only) $55 if registering by 
Feb. 8 or $65 after that date. Contact coordinator Lorna Jost, 605-692-3390 or 
605-695-0782.

-- March 23-24, Cerro Gordo (Ill.) Church of the Brethren (contact Rosie 
Brandenburg, 217-763-6039).

-- March 24-25, La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren (contact Kathy Benson, 
909-593-4868 or  909-837-7103).

-- April 13-14, Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren (contact Lavonne 
Grubb, 717 367-7224 or 717 368-3141).

-- April 27-28, Center Church of the Brethren, Louisville, Ohio (contact Sandra 
Humphrey, 330-603-9073 or leave a message at 330 875-2064).

For more information about Children's Disaster Services go to 
www.brethren.org/cds or call the CDS office at 410-635-8735 or 800-451-4407 
option 5. To be notified of upcoming workshops, send an e-mail with your name, 
address, and e-mail address to CDS@brethren.org .

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. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith 
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated its 
300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across the United 
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, 
Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information 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