Volunteers and work groups can sign up by contacting Kim Hopkins (kimberly.hopkins@yahoo.com; (340) 643-7516) or on the DART website. Once there, sign up under Individual Registration by clicking "Volunteer". During the registration process you will have the option to also register as a group.

Funding can be by check to Maryland VOAD, c/o Bruce Morgenstern, 1911 Hunt Meadow Drive, Annapolis, MD 21403. Electronic funds can be sent via Paypal at this link.

Photo: Islamic Relief USA and Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteers repairing dry wall in PG County in May. Photo courtesy of Gihan Ahmed, Islamic Relief USA.

NOAA's Hurricane Season Predictions

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is predicting another above-normal Atlantic hurricane season.

Community Resilience Estimates Course - June 01, 2021 - 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (ET)

Community resilience is the capacity of individuals and households to absorb, endure, and recover from the health, social, and economic impacts of a disaster such as a hurricane or pandemic. This webinar will introduce attendees to the CRE, explain how it promotes equitable distribution of federal and state resources and funding, and show how to identify at risk neighborhoods in their community.

FEMA will present this webinar on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 from 12 to 12:30 PM ET. This webinar will take a look at how to expand the reach of mitigation activities with insights from public health experts. Public health efforts to prevent disease, protect against hazards, respond to disasters, and more overlap with hazard mitigation work. Learn how collaboration between the fields improves community resilience. Register here.

The goal of this 8-hour course (AWR-232) is to teach participants the basics of mass fatality response while providing opportunities to exchange rural perceptions and brain storm solutions to simulated emergencies. The sponsor agency is MD VOAD member U.S Veteran Reserve Corp. Registration deadline is June 10, 2021.

Vibrant’s Crisis Emotional Care Team will host a symposium on June 16 & 17, 2021. The virtual symposium will feature key learnings from COVID-19 and will highlight how organizations can continue to advocate for the mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of others in the face of the ongoing effects of this pandemic. Register here now.  For more information about the Crisis Emotional Care Team, please visit www.vibrant.org/cect. 

In just the first two weeks of the program, the FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program has over 142,000 registered applicants. While the process from call in-take to ensuring accurate documentation is received is a slow, FEMA has reimbursed over 150 eligible applicants with more then $1 million dollars in assistance. Additionally, a new ALS version of the COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program Video is available on the website. There are also new posters from FEMA in English and Spanish available to share.

Do you have an update, event, or announcement to share with the rest of Maryland VOAD? Send your information and pictures to CommunicationsCoordinator@MarylandVOAD.org to be shared on our Social Media or by the 15th of each month to be included in the next newsletter issue.