Are you ready to become a Red Cross volunteer?
    Here's a list of what you could do, and how you can do it

    ___Teach youth how to be safer. Become a Basic Aid Training Instructor.

    ___Help families when they need help the most. Join a Disaster Action Team.

    ___Keep local military families in touch. Become an Armed Forces Emergency Services
          Caseworker.

    ___Build leadership skills. Join the American Red Cross Teen Volunteer Corps.

    ___Save lives. Become a CPR, First Aid, & Automated External Defibrillator Instructor.

    ___Help guard lives at pools & lakes. Become a Water Safety or Lifeguard Instructor.

    ___Provide office support. Answer telephones, data entry, inventory control, make deliveries, greet Red Cross guests.

    ___Take a helping vacation once a year on your American Red Cross or help your neighbors. Become a disaster volunteer
    qualified to
    help families recover from major disasters in your local community or across the country by becoming a:
    *Damage Assessment Technician
    *Family Service Caseworker
    *Disaster Mental Health Volunteer (License Required)
    *Disaster Health Service Volunteer (License Required)
    *Mass Care Technician/Shelter Manager
    *Logistics Technician
    *Accountant
    *Disaster Services Instructor
    *Community Disaster Education Presenter

    ___Raise money and build Chapter Capacity & Resources. Join the Board of Directors.



Become a Red Cross Volunteer!
The American Red Cross works within communities,
providing relief to people who have suffered a
disaster.  We also help people prepare for, and
respond to a variety of emergencies.  With your help,
the promise of neighbor helping neighbor in times of
trouble becomes a reality and our communities
become safer places to live.  The Rio Colorado
Chapter of the American Red Cross recruits and
trains volunteers. There are many ways you can help
save lives.  Be a hero and get involved!
It's easy to become a volunteer, and it really is fun!  Just call us at (979) 245-3056 or email us at
chapter@riocoloradoarc.org  and say you want to be a part of the Rio Colorado Red Cross
Team!  We'll get you set up for training, and discuss opportunities that will match your skills.
The ERV Gang
Jim Crawford, Jim Oglesby, Jess
Enriquez and Richard Alvarado



    1. Volunteering offers incredible networking opportunities. Volunteering in your community allows you to meet new people, including
    community leaders. You don't have to join a club or attend meetings. You can volunteer at a time that fits your schedule. You not only
    develop life long personal and professional relationships (friends), you can also hear about job openings, gather insider employment
    information and develop great references.

    2. Volunteering helps you retain and sharpen old skills. Sometimes job duties change and you may no longer be doing things you used to
    do, and liked. Volunteering is a perfect venue for keeping those skills sharp and current. A young colleague at the university serves as a
    volunteer advisor for a student honorary group to keep her in touch with today's students - their likes, interests, music, concerns. She
    says it helps her in her counseling work to be aware of current tends and interests among the students.

    3. Volunteering is the perfect place to develop new skills. Employers are often seeking well-rounded individuals who have good teamwork
    and goal setting skills. Serving on a volunteer committee or board is a great way to learn group dynamics and teamwork. Serving as a
    committee chair increases facilitation skills. Planning and implementing a major fund raising event can develop goal setting, planning and
    budgeting skills. Supervising and training other volunteers helps to develop supervisory and training skills. Volunteering offers unlimited
    opportunities to cultivate new skills that can enhance a career.

    4. Volunteering offers opportunities to practice skills in a relatively risk free environment. It is much more effective to practice a skill than to
    read about it or study it in a classroom. Volunteering is an excellent place to experiment, practice and try out new techniques and skills. If
    offers you the opportunity build your self-confidence through practice. Additionally, volunteering provides you opportunities to observe
    others and select best practices. You can stretch yourself in new way that can benefit your career.

    5. Volunteering can help you expand your horizons and explore new career options. Demographics are changing rapidly in our society
    and volunteering is a great way to enhance cultural awareness. Group work not only fosters teamwork, but also offers opportunities to
    learn more about different perspectives. If you are thinking of a career change, volunteering is a perfect way to explore new fields.
    Sometimes a volunteer experience can lead you to something you never even though about or help you discover a skill or interest you
    were unaware of. You can strengthen your personal/professional mission and vision by exploring opportunities and expanding your
    horizons.

    6. Volunteering give you the satisfaction of knowing you are doing good and being involved in your community. A young professional man
    was very troubled by the Columbine High School shooting because he had personally felt like an outsider in high school and decided he
    would become a big brother to serve as a positive influence in a young life. He now feels connected in a whole new way. He is also gaining
    valuable personal skills such as patience and tolerance that have enhanced his professional standing. There are so many options for
    being involved in your community, through professional associations, neighborhood organizations, arts and historic organizations and
    social service organizations. If you feel strongly about something that is happening or not happening in your community, get involved. Get
    others to join with you and craft new solutions to community problems.

    7. Volunteering gives you visibility. A young manager at a major bank once told me that he loved to volunteer at the local food pantry on
    the same night as the bank's vice president. This was his opportunity to be seen and known personally by the vice president. Volunteer
    work can indeed expose you to a wide range of people, including many strong, influential community leaders. Our city has a young
    professional association called the "Movers and Shakers" because they want to be seen as people who get things done.

    8. Volunteering can be energizing/renewing. Sometimes we simply need a break in our routine, or an opportunity to create a balance in
    our lives. Volunteering around a personal interest or hobby can be fun, relaxing and energizing. That energy and sense of fulfillment can
    carry over to a work situation and sometimes helps to relieve work tensions and foster new perspectives for old situations.

    9. Volunteering can create leaders. By watching those around you, you can begin to identify the qualities of leadership that you most
    admire and you can develop those qualities in yourself. Managing a group of volunteers is not the same as managing employees.
    Volunteer groups are often groups of peers and they respond more to leadership than management. You will have opportunities to lead
    by persuasion, innovation and your ideas and ideals. Working in volunteer settings will help you learn strategic thinking, change
    management and conflict resolution skills. You will learn about your community, about trends and issues, about people and about
    resources. All of which can help you develop your leadership potential.

    10. Volunteering demonstrates workplace skills/management skills/customer service skills/leadership skills that can be documented in a
    resume. Work experience is work experience, with or without a paycheck. If you are developing new skills or thinking of pursuing a new
    career, volunteer work can give you valuable, practical experience. Career counselors, and headhunters encourage job seekers to
    document pertinent volunteer experiences. Volunteer work support skills, character and balance in life. 90% of executives in a national
    survey of Fortune 500 companies believed volunteering built teamwork and provided valuable professional development opportunities.


    Life is a wonderful journey and you never know where it will take you. Volunteering can help you be more than a passive
    traveler. You can make a plan and actively build skills to enhance your professional lives. No fees and no tuition. A
    commitment of time and energy and you are on your way.
10 Ways Volunteering Can Help Your Career
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DAT Schedule Jan-Jun 08
DAT Schedule Jul-Dec 08
Will open as pdf document.
ERV Schedule May- Aug 08  
Will open as MS word doc.
Highly Performing Chapter for 3 years
Rio Colorado Chapter of the American Red Cross   
Serving Matagorda, Wharton, Colorado, & Fayette Counties
2200 7th Street
Bay City TX, 77414
(979) 245-3056, email: chapter@riocoloradoarc.org