Date: Feb. 2, 2006 Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103 E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com)
DISASTER CHILD CARE RELEASES 2005 FIGURES, ANNOUNCES 2006 TRAININGS
Feb. 2, 2006 (Elgin, IL) -- Disaster Child Care (DCC) coordinator Helen Stonesifer has released year-end figures for the program, which is part of Church of the Brethren Emergency Response. DCC trains volunteers to set up special child care centers in disaster locations to care for young children that have been affected by disaster.
The 2005 statistics "are quite impressive," Stonesifer said, reporting that 148 volunteers served 1,372 days in 20 childcare centers, making 3,152 childcare contacts in the aftermath of four natural and human-caused disasters. "The value of this donated care is estimated at $192,628.80," she said.
In 2005, a total of 162 people were trained at 10 Level I Disaster Child Care Training Workshops held in Benton, Ark.; Victor, N.Y.; Paw Paw, Mich.; Roanoke, Va.; La Verne, Calif.; Mount Morris, Ill.; Norfolk, Neb.; Brook Park, Ohio; Sodus, N.Y.; and Farmington, Del. "Pending certification, these trainees will become a part of the DCC volunteer network that provides love, comfort, and support to children affected by disaster," Stonesifer said.
Several more Level I Disaster Child Care Training Workshops will be offered in 2006. "Please encourage persons to attend whom you know are interested in
being a part of this ministry to children," Stonesifer said. Cost for each workshop is $45; $55 if less than three weeks prior to workshop; current volunteers may attend for $25.
Level 1 Volunteer Training Workshops are planned for Feb. 17-18 at Beaverton
(Mich.) Church of the Brethren; Feb. 25-26 at LaMesa (Calif.) Seventh-Day Adventist Church; March 3-4 at Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren; March 10-11 at Montezuma Church of the Brethren in Dayton, Va.; March 17-18 at Indian Creek Church of the Brethren in Harleysville, Pa.; and April 28-29 at Deer Park United Methodist Church in Westminster, Md.
To register and for information about Level I Disaster Child Care Training Workshops, see _www.disasterchildcare.org_ (http://www.disasterchildcare.org) . For copies of the workshop brochure and registration form, call Diane Gosnell at 800-451-4407.
DCC volunteers who received training more than five years ago also are encouraged to participate in a training workshop "to brush up on your skills," Stonesifer said. "Several procedures and policies have recently changed and we want you to know about them."
Among changes for volunteers is a request for a head-and-shoulders photograph, required for picture identification badges, as well as a criminal
background check as part of the volunteer certification process. All certified child care volunteers who were trained prior to 2000 are now being requested to send in a photograph and to obtain a criminal background check. Volunteers who already have a criminal background check on file in the DCC office may disregard this request. A criminal background check form can be downloaded from the DCC website at _www.disasterchildcare.org_ (http://www.disasterchildcare.org) or call Diane Gosnell at 800-451-4407 ext. 3.
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 celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
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For more information contact:
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave. Elgin, IL 60120 847-742-5100 ext. 260 _cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_ (mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org)
***************************************************************** The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,
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