Children’s Disaster Services workshop series will train volunteers

Church of the Brethren Newsline
January 28, 2017

Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) is offering a series of workshops for volunteer training. CDS and its trained and certified volunteers provide care for children and families following disasters. The 27-hour workshops provide required training for volunteers who wish to serve in the program.

Anyone 18 or over is welcome to attend and become a certified CDS caregiver. The training is an overnight experience simulating a shelter situation, and includes an overview of our work, understanding phases of disaster and how CDS fits in, working with disaster partners and children and family needs following disasters, supporting resilience in children, setting up a children’s center with a Kit of Comfort, ethical guidelines, and the certification process. References and background checks are required for certification. Once caregivers complete certification, all expenses are paid for disaster responses.

The website link for registrations is www.brethren.org/cds/training/dates.html .

Here are the winter-spring 2017 dates, locations, and contact information:

Feb. 3-4 in Independence, Mo., hosted by Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints. Local contact: Linda Chase, 816-405-4124, lschase@jacksongov.org

Feb. 25-26 at La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren. Local contact: Kathy Benson, 909-593-4868

April 28-29 at McPherson (Kan.) Church of the Brethren. Local contact: Jerry Bowen, 620-241-1109, jerry@macbrethren.org

In addition, CDS is offering a training workshop specifically for Child Life Specialists on March 25 in Dallas, Texas. Contact: Katie Nees, cldisasterrelief@gmail.com

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