Press Release

To:        All Bloomington Media Outlets

From:    Monroe County Citizen Corps Council

Date:     September 24, 2004

 

Monroe County Citizen Corps Council

Encourages Volunteerism in Response to 9/11

 

          As America observes the two year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that gave rise to President Bush's “Call to Service” and the National Citizen Corps Council, the Monroe County Citizen Corps Council is encouraging more citizens to respond to the terrorist attacks with acts of good, and suggesting that they engage in volunteer service as a way of honoring the victims of those attacks.

 

          Mark Brostoff, Chair, Monroe County Citizen Corps stresses the importance of volunteer service.  “People in every corner of Monroe County have been asking “what can I do?” and “how do I prepare for a disaster?”.  Citizen Corps was created to help citizens’ answers these questions through public education and outreach, training and volunteerism.” 

 

           The Monroe County Citizen Corps Council partners with community resources in developing programs in response to several recent disasters, the tornados and floods of recent years, for example.   Georgia Schaich of RSVP of Monroe County is part of Citizen Corps because “…we are committed to finding creative ways we can help prepare our community for all sorts of disaster related challenges big and small.”

 

          Through various joint efforts with John Hooker of the Monroe County Emergency Management Department and trainers from the Monroe County Citizen Corps, programs such as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will train residents in neighborhoods and schools in basic disaster response skills, such as fire suppression, urban search and rescue, and medical operations, and helps them take a more active role in emergency preparedness.   

 

          The Citizen Corps program has a wide range of resources and materials available to local groups, classrooms and neighborhoods for public education, outreach, and training.  Brostoff added, “…our volunteers are interested in helping to make our community safer, as well as provide volunteer service opportunities to support first responders, disaster relief activities, and community safety efforts.”

 

          Ken Long, one of the Monroe County Citizen Corps CERT Trainers and a member of the Indiana University Risk Management team stated, “…after September 11th, 2001, we have learned that we must take action to help protect our families, help reduce the impact an emergency has on our lives, and help deal with the chaos if an incident does occur.  The CERT program is an excellent opportunity for neighborhoods to prepare themselves in case of any possible natural or manmade disaster.”

 

          Citizen Corps is a network of volunteer organizations that use the abilities of citizens to prepare communities for the threats of terrorism, crime and natural disasters. It is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and recognized by both the State and Local Emergency Management agencies.

 

          Citizens interested in volunteering or neighborhood representatives wanting to learn more about CERT, can contact Mark Brostoff at mbrostof@indiana.edu or log onto the Monroe County Citizen Corps Council website at http://www.bloomington.in.us/~mccc/  and use the volunteer link.

 

-30-