VOLUNTEER : Domestic Disaster Recovery

Volunteering in disaster-affected communities is a powerful way to help our neighbors recover and bring hope in the midst of struggle. We have seen Disciples make the greatest impact by volunteering where recovery efforts are ongoing, once the community has had a chance to identify their unmet needs and get organized. While there is often an abundance of donations and volunteers in the first days and weeks following a disaster, there is great need of willing hands for months and years as communities rebuild. Week of Compassion works to support local congregations to provide relief in the early days and to coordinate resources and volunteers from across the church for long-term recovery.                                              
Get connected with current volunteer opportunities,
​or be notified of future options.
Your congregation can be ready to provide relief
​in your community when disasters strike.  
We continue working with our partners to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 for our volunteers and the communities we serve. 
Week of Compassion requires all volunteers who are eligible to receive the vaccine do so before serving. 
​Each partner has site-specific protocols as well. ​

Current Volunteer Opportunities

​We have added weeks to the schedule and need your hands in Dayton, Ohio!

In response to the May 2019 tornado outbreak, Week of Compassion is supporting an innovative collaboration called the Tornado Survivors’ Pathways to Homeownership, which helps families displaced from tornado-damaged rental housing become first-time homeowners.

In partnership with the Christian Church in Ohio, the Heartland Conference United Church of Christ, and the United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries, we are hosting volunteer teams of 4-10 people through July 2022 to finish interiors of new/rehabbed homes.
Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older (mixed age groups must have 1 adult for every 4 volunteers under 18).

​Housing is provided, if desired, ($50/person/week) at United Christian Church, where teams will have access to a kitchen to prepare meals. Showers will be at the YMCA across the street. Preferred work schedule is Monday-Friday, but other schedules can be accommodated as availability allows.
For information about other ongoing responses,
​visit our Domestic Disaster Response page.

Disaster Volunteering Map

 - active volunteer opportunity (COVID-19 protocol in place)
- volunteer opportunity in development

For more information about volunteering, to register your group, or for help identifying disaster response opportunities in your area, click the Volunteer Interest Form above.
Prepare for future mission opportunities by 1) becoming more disaster-ready as a household or congregation; 2) developing skills in home repair; and 3) advocating for local, state, and federal policies that promote adequate and equitable disaster recovery.

Children's Disaster Services Volunteer 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 and 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 training will allow you to understand and respond to children who have experienced a disaster, and the information learned at this training can be beneficial to anyone working with children.  

​CDS provides specialized training for all its volunteers. The CDS Volunteer Training is a comprehensive 25-hour event that uses applied, experiential activities to help the participants integrate their learning.  
                                                                                                                     : TRAINING EVENTS :

                                              May 13-14, 2022 - Lititz PA                                                        June 3-4, 2022 - Woodinville WA
                                        at Lititz Church of the Brethren                                               at Bear Creek United Methodist Church 
                                   - flyer -      - event & registration info -                                           - flyer -       - event & registration info - ​

Give Time & Treasure

Money is the best donation you can make following a disaster. The very thing that can make cash unsatisfying for the donor - that it lacks specificity - is what makes it useful for the affected communities! The vast majority of donations (up to two-thirds, according to some experts) come in during the first two months following a disaster, but needs continue for years as communities rebuild. Monetary donations can be put to use in the first few days of a disaster response, or they can be held to meet longer term needs.