October 15, 2010

ELGIN, IL – Children's Disaster Services is offering volunteer training workshops in Los Altos in northern California on Oct. 29-30, and in Englewood, Ohio, on Nov. 12-13.

The northern California workshop will be held at Los Altos United Methodist Church (655 Magdalena Ave., Los Altos), organized by local coordinators Janice Maggiora or Patricia Parfett, 650-383-9322. Cost for attending the workshop is $55.

The Ohio workshop will be held at Salem Church of the Brethren (6037 Phillipsburg Rd., Englewood), organized by local coordinator Carrie Smith, 937-836-6145. Cost for attending the workshop is $45 (going up to $55 after Oct. 22).

Children's Disaster Services is a Church of the Brethren ministry working cooperatively with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide care for children and families following disasters. The program has been meeting the needs of children since 1980.

Children's Disaster Services volunteers provide a calm, safe, and reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos that follows disaster by setting up and operating special child care centers in disaster locations. Parents are then able to apply for assistance and begin to put their lives back together, knowing their children are safe.

In recent years, Children's Disaster Services volunteers have cared for thousands of children affected by flooding and ice storms in the Midwest, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the Metrolink train accident in southern California, and California wildfires, among other disasters.

A Critical Response Childcare Team provided care for families of airplane crash victims following the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in which 50 people were killed near Buffalo, N.Y.

Information learned at the Volunteer Workshop can be beneficial to anyone working with children. The workshop trains participants to understand and respond to children who have experienced a disaster. Designed for people who have a heart and passion for children, the training will help participants recognize and understand the fears and other emotions children experience during and following a disaster. Participants also learn how child-led play and various art mediums can start the healing process. Participants will experience a simulated shelter, sleeping on cots and eating simple meals.

Once the training is completed, participants have the opportunity to become a certified Children's Disaster Services volunteer by providing two personal references and a criminal and sexual offender background check.

Although many volunteers are motivated by faith, Children's Disaster Services Volunteer Workshops are open to anyone over 18 years of age.

The Children's Disaster Services office may be contacted at cds@brethren.org or 800-451-4407 ext. 5. Go to http://www.childrensdisastercervices.org, for more information about the program.

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. It is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Peace Churches. It celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts close to 125,000 members across the US and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Haiti, and India.

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service