MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

March | 2023

In This Issue:

  • MD VOAD & DE VOAD Annual Conference Update - March 13 - 14, 2023
  • Silver Spring High-rise Fire and Response
  • Items Needed for Family of Fire
  • BDM and MAD - Tidal Flood Response
  • MD VOAD Nominating Committee
  • FEMA 2023 Grant
  • Brethren Disaster Ministry Hiring
  • Anne Arundel Hospital Exercise
  • DE VOAD - Children's Disaster Service Training
  • National VOAD Conference - Save the Date
  • Facebook page

Annual Conference Speakers

Tania Serrano Gonzalez

Julia Pedrosa

Jono Anzalone


When

March 13-14, Noon to Noon

Add to Calendar

  

Where

Princess Royale Resort

9100 Coastal Highway

Ocean City, MD 21842


Book a Room at the Princess Royale

Reservation Number: 1-800-476-9253

Use reference code: Maryland VOAD 2023 and/or Block Code: 23VOAD.


Click here to REGISTER. Registration cost is $115

 

Resource Fair in Silver Spring


Many organizations gathered last night in Silver Spring to hold a resource fair for those displaced by the recent high-rise fire.


Tragic Baltimore Fire Affects MD DHS


A member of the Maryland Department of Human Services team was impacted by a horrible tragedy during the end of January when her 5 year-old grandson was killed in a house fire. His twin brother and their family also lost their home and all of their belongings during the disaster. The family is trying to rebuild their lives and desperately needs some community support.


If you or any of your agencies can offer donations please visit this link and provide information on items that can be shared. We thank you so much for any support you can offer: 


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aPR7IjEngoe8mCPFd26FTSjomiJj2dj0-GYQRn2sd2g/edit?usp=sharing


Bethany Brown

Deputy Chief of the Office of Emergency Operations

Division of Administrative Operations

Mid-Atlantic District Responding in Partnership with Brethren Disaster Ministry (BDM)

 

In October 2021, tidal flooding on the Chesapeake Bay inundated streets, homes, and businesses in Maryland’s Somerset and Dorchester counties. Although approximately 150 homes were flooded, this was a "low-attention disaster", meaning the news of the event and the impacts did not make the mainstream national or state media. The damage was not enough to meet the threshold for a federal disaster declaration so there were no FEMA funds available to help survivors rebuild. State funding was also not available. The recovery has primarily been supported by the Eastern Shore Long Term Recovery Group and the Maryland Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (MDVOAD).

 

BDM and the Mid-Atlantic District (MAD) both participate in MDVOAD. The district often supports MDVOAD’s local responses by providing volunteers and leaders to complete work in areas impacted by disasters. The Maryland tidal flooding event presented an opportunity for BDM to partner with MAD in such a response. To leverage resources and funding to support MAD’s work, BDM staff applied for and received a grant from National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) and Lowes Home Improvement. This included $30,000 in Lowes gift cards to cover the costs of construction materials that the families were unable to purchase on their own. The grant also included $4,200 to help cover some volunteer travel and housing costs.

 

The volunteers that responded were recruited by MAD District Disaster Coordinator, Jeff McKee. They typically worked for four workdays and were primarily from various areas of the district who either traveled and stayed overnight or who lived locally and traveled daily to the jobsites. Several volunteers from the Western and Southern Pennsylvania districts also served during the BDM weeks. In total, 35 volunteers served during nine weeks to support three families with their recovery. Even though the grant is completed, the Mid-Atlantic District is still planning to coordinate future trips to serve in the area in 2023.

Top images by Dave Jupin

Inset photo courtesy of BDM

Below Image, MAD Group – photo courtesy of Jeff McKee

Call for Nominations for 2023 Maryland VOAD Board of Directors Elections



Maryland VOAD is required by our bylaws to hold elections for the Board of Directors members every year at our Annual Meeting in June.


If you are interested in serving on the MD VOAD Board of Directors please contact Burton Goldstein

DHS Announces $2 Billion

in Preparedness Grants

 

Focus on nation’s highest risk areas

The Fiscal Year 2023 grant guidance will continue to focus on the nation’s highest risk areas, including urban areas that face the most significant threats and national priorities. This year, the Urban Area Security Initiative will enhance regional preparedness and capabilities by funding 40 high-threat, high-density urban areas. This includes five additional urban areas who will receive funding to build and sustain capability based on an evolving threat environment. This represents Congressional intent to limit these funds to those urban areas that represent up to 85% of nationwide risk.


DHS has identified six national priority areas in the FY 2023 grant cycle: cybersecurity; soft targets and crowded places; intelligence and information sharing; domestic violent extremism; community preparedness and resilience; and election security. Grant recipients under the State Homeland Security Program and Urban Area Security Initiative will be required to dedicate a minimum of 30% of their awards across these six priority areas.


As with previous years, new capabilities that are built using homeland security grant funding must be deployable if needed to support regional and national efforts. All capabilities being built or sustained must have a clear linkage to the core capabilities articulated in the National Preparedness Goal.


Before determining modifications and final allocations to the grant programs, DHS coordinated extensive engagements with local and state partners, and worked with a wide range of stakeholders. All the funding notices can be found at www.grants.gov.


FEMA has engaged in a concerted effort to expand and enhance outreach related to the NSGP to reach potential new applicants, especially in underserved communities. Funding allocations for the NSGP announcement and for technical assistance in developing grant applications can be found at Nonprofit Security Grant Program | FEMA.gov.


Final submissions must be made through the non-disaster grants system located at https://portal.fema.gov.



Further information on DHS’s preparedness grant programs is available at www.dhs.gov and http://www.fema.gov/grants.

Brethren Disaster Ministries is in search of an Associate Director of Children’s Disaster Services following the resignation of Lisa Crouch. Please consider if you or someone you know might be interested in applying for this important role. The Associate Directors (AD) primary role is to provide oversight and administration of Children’s Disaster Services programming and volunteer deployments. As part of the Brethren Disaster Ministries team, the AD also helps provide support for other program areas of BDM. A person in the Mid-Atlantic region that can work form the BDM offices in Maryland is preferred, but not required. The full position posting is included below or at https://www.brethren.org/about/employment/.


Position Posting

Church of the Brethren

February 2023

 

Associate Director of Children’s Disaster Services

 

The Church of the Brethren is seeking an individual to fill the full-time salaried position of Associate Director of Children’s Disaster Services. The Associate Director of CDS is part of the Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) team and reports to the Executive Director of Service Ministries. Working from the New Windsor, MD office is preferred.

 

The major responsibility is to provide oversight and administration of Children’s Disaster Services programming and volunteer deployments.

 

Required skills and knowledge:

  • Effective communication skills in English, both verbal and written.
  • Ability to communicate effectively with multiple agencies and constituencies and deal gracefully with the public. Strong interpersonal skills that contribute to effective interaction, relationship building & communication.
  • Ability to work with minimum supervision, self-starter, readily adaptable to change, works well in a multi-dimensional program.
  • Skill in volunteer management and program development.
  • Appreciation for the church’s role in mission with awareness of mission operations.
  • Effective training and presentation skills.
  • Skilled competency in Microsoft Office component applications, particularly Outlook, Word, Teams, Excel, and PowerPoint with the capability and willingness to learn new software applications. Raisers Edge or database experience preferred.
  • Knowledge of child development and the impact of trauma on development preferred.
  • Ability to act within a multicultural and multigenerational team environment.

 

Experience:

  • Experience creating and delivering effective presentations and providing adult education, especially in conducting skill training workshops.
  • Experience in managing staff and volunteers.
  • Experience working directly with children (teaching, counseling, providing program, etc).
  • Previous disaster response experience is preferred.

 

  Bachelors’ degree is required, advanced degree preferred.

Applications will be received beginning immediately and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the      position is filled. Qualified candidates are invited to send a resume to COBApply@brethren.org

 

Office of Human Resources

Church of the Brethren

1451 Dundee Avenue

Elgin, IL 60120

800-323-8039 ext. 367

  • The Church of the Brethren is an Equal Opportunity Employer.


Anne Arundel County Hospital Exercise

Two MD VOAD organizations, Annapolis CERT and the Medical Reserve Corps. supported the Navy and the two Anne Arundel County hospitals in a recent exercise. These two organizations provided 40+ volunteers and a moulage artist to support the exercise.


Pictured: Bruce Morgenstern playing a victim shot three times in the leg. His character receives a tourniquet and is airlifted.

CHILDREN’S DISASTER SERVICES TRAINING



Children’s Disaster Services is a Church of the Brethren Disaster Ministry that involves volunteers from many faith communities who provide a calm, safe and reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos that follows disaster by setting up & operating special childcare 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. The information learned at this workshop can be beneficial to anyone working with children.

 

The training workshop will be held:

 

Date: April 14-15, 2023 

Time: Friday 4:30 p.m. to Saturday 5:00 p.m.

Location: Ebenezer UMC, 525 Polly Drummond Rd., Newark, DE 19711

Registration $55.00.  

Includes overnight accommodations and meals. 

 

https://www.brethren.org/cds/

We are excited to host the 2023 National VOAD Conference at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. All conference programming will take place at the Hyatt Regency.

 

We have secured the below discounted rate for National VOAD attendees and you must book your hotel room through the link below to secure the discounted rate.

 

Single/Double Occupancy Room Rate: $199/night

 

Click Here to Book Your Hotel Room

 

Rates above do not include applicable taxes. The above rates are on a first-come, first served basis through April 14, 2023.

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