May 26, 2005

ELGIN, IL – A Disaster Child Care (DCC) Level II Leadership Seminar was held at the New Windsor (Md.) Conference Center of the Church of the Brethren on April 25-27. A DCC Critical Response Child Care (CRC) orientation was held at the Red Cross chapter in Little Rock, Ark., on May 2. DCC is a program of the Church of the Brethren General Board.

Potential and experienced disaster project managers and a selected group of CRC team administrators were involved in the leadership seminar. Leadership was provided by staff Helen Stonesifer and Roy Winter, and several experienced project managers. "This event was a huge success," Stonesifer reported. Thirty-one volunteers participated from across the country. A highlight of the training was a tour of the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The CRC orientation was led by Stonesifer and Jean Myers. Following the orientation, volunteers participated in a four-day American Red Cross Critical Response Team training at the Clara Barton Center for Domestic Preparedness in Pine Bluff, Ark.

"At the completion of this training, all DCC CRC team members will have been prepared to become part of the American Red Cross Critical Response Team which responds to aviation incidents and/or mass casualty disasters," Stonesifer said.

For more information about DCC see http://www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm/dcc.htm.

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.

Church of the Brethren Newsline