Tips to Organize Disaster Relief Efforts to Make an Impact

Photo credit to The Third Wave Volunteers

Cari Newton is the founder of Benevolist.org, a website dedicated to helping nonprofits streamline and manage their item collection drives. On this free platform, aid organizations can create and share most-needed item lists that include goods from Amazon, Walmart, The Home Depot and Target. Donors can select and purchase items in just a few clicks, ensuring that the right items get to the people who need them the most.

When disaster strikes, getting assistance to the victims is critical. The challenge lies in how to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible, given the unique parameters of each catastrophic event.

Cari Newton, founder of Benevolist.org, shares tips on organizing successful disaster relief efforts, and important insights from two major relief organizations, Third Wave Volunteers and The Cajun Navy Ground Force.

Cari Newton Founder of BenevolistCari Newton Founder of Benevolist

Cari Newton Founder of Benevolist

SignUpGenius: How do disaster relief organizations assess a community’s greatest needs after a natural disaster?

Cari Newton: Relief organizations that arrive first with “boots on the ground” in the disaster zone will very quickly set up a command center in a location with good visibility. People affected by the disaster make their way to this location seeking assistance. These victims assist the agencies in identifying what type of help is needed most in the affected community.

To coordinate relief efforts efficiently and effectively, all organizations involved in the recovery effort, along with FEMA and local officials, participate in a VOAD telephone call daily or even more frequently if needed. VOAD is Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. These calls allow everyone to get on the same page in identifying the community’s greatest needs and how they can work together to meet them.

Mark Green, in Operations with Third Wave Volunteers, shares that their organization partners with local residents, who know their community best. Language barriers and other obstacles are less challenging when local volunteers are involved. The locals also assist in the important task of collecting item donations, by helping to identify and secure available space for an accessible, centralized item collection and distribution location.