Newsline: Disaster Child Care Provides Training Workshops April 2, 2007 Church of the Brethren News Service Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director 800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org
DISASTER CHILD CARE PROVIDES TRAINING WORKSHOPS
(April 2, 2007) Elgin, IL -- This year, Disaster Child Care has been offering a series of Level I Training Workshops for child care volunteers, and has named a new training coordinator. The program, which offers aid to families and children following disasters in cooperation with the American Red Cross and FEMA, is a ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board.
Robert (Bob) Roach of Phenix, Va., will work on a volunteer basis with Disaster Child Care coordinator Helen Stonesifer to coordinate the Level I Training Workshops, which are required for certification of volunteers who work with Disaster Child Care.
Roach will work with sponsoring organizations to establish dates and locations, and to assign trainers. Congregations and organizations interested in sponsoring a training may contact him at 434-542-5565 or phenixva@hotmail.com.
"Our goal continues to be to schedule training events in the Gulf Coast states, as well as in other states where there are very few trained volunteers or none at all," Stonesifer said.
Level I Training Workshops have been held in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 16- 17, with 19 participants; in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 23-24, with 18 in attendance; at Dallas Center (Iowa) Church of the Brethren on March 9- 10 with 19 participants; at Agape Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., on March 16-17 with 11 people registered; and at the Martin Luther King Center in Natchitoches, La., on March 23-24.
An upcoming training on April 20-21 will be at Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in Littleton, Colo.; contact Judy Gump at 970-352-9091 or Maxine Meunier at 303-973-4727.
Several experienced child care volunteers are receiving American Red Cross (ARC) Critical Response Team Training this week. Eight volunteers are attending the training in Las Vegas on March 25-30, including a special Disaster Child Care orientation on March 26. The training will help volunteers understand the roles and responsibilities of a Critical Response Team member and how Disaster Child Care fits into the structure of the ARC Critical Response Team.
In other work, Disaster Child Care has represented the Church of the Brethren in conversations with the American Red Cross and Save the Children, in the process of establishing a "Statement of Understanding" to ensure the wellbeing of children in emergency evacuation shelters for people who have been affected by conflict and disasters.
"One of the ways to achieve this is to set up safe play spaces--designed for children ages 4 to 10 to play and participate in recreational activities with other children for several hours each day," Stonesifer said. "Working together, these agencies plan to provide a 'Safe Space Kit' and to secure and train volunteers to work in the areas," she said.
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 Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.
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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 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
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