While most of us are made/making plans to enjoy the long weekend, please take a moment to pay a tribute to the meaning of these days. 

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance to the men and women who sacrificed themselves while serving in the United States Armed Forces; keeping all of us at home safe.  World Cares Center extends warm gratitude to the families that commemorate their loved ones and a special thank you from all of us for their Bravery, patriotism and love for these United States of America.

Founded shortly after 9/11, World Cares Center is based upon a strong belief in creating safer communities.  More than 10 years ago, Lisa Orloff established the organization that today empowers individuals, youth and seniors, community leaders, families, and groups with the knowledge and skills to be prepared for any man made and natural emergency situation.  Have a safe and memorable Memorial weekend!

Wishing you a warm Memorial Day!

World Cares Center Team

Collaborate. Prepare. Recover

Read about World Cares Center at www.worldcares.org

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On Wednesday, May 23rd, Marina Diaz, World Cares Center Programs Manager, met with members of the Wayne VOAD committee; our focus in the meeting was getting the word out to individual citizens in Wayne County and their neighbors about the Hurricane Relief efforts being handled by the committee and other partnering agencies.  Topics discussed were:

• Effectively reaching out to the homeowners with unmet needs; 
• Alerting the homeowners about the various free resources being offered to homeowners who were affected by the flood; 
• Provide answers to questions such as: Who can help me with the mold situation that is still ongoing in my home caused by the flood waters of Hurricane Irene? Where can I get rebuilding assistance?

The committee is also reaching out to World Cares Center to train local citizens on Volunteer Safety, Muckout and Mold Mitigation.  The ability to have a coordinated volunteer group within your community increases the recovery time and reinforces the connectivity of neighbor helping neighbor. Let’s take action and move towards a resilient community.  Get Trained, Get Involved.

Contact Marina Diaz, Programs Manager – mdiaz@worldcares.org or 212-563-7570.

From April 16-20, World Cares Center trained youth groups throughout New York City and New Jersey on home emergency prevention and preparedness as well as response to natural and manmade disasters. With the help of our wonderful volunteers, we trained a total 531 youth through 11 workshops. At the end of each session, students presented our facilitators with personal experiences, questions, and what they learned that day. Each of the 531 youth answered questions and received short manuals including guidelines on how to be prepared for emergency situations and interactive games and activities. Said one participant, “I have attended assemblies before with the Fire Department and Teachers about safety, but I didn’t realize how important it all was until just now with your training.” One of the volunteers involved in the program reported, “Volunteering with WCC and Global Youth Service Day was a blast. Not only did I get the chance to become more informed about how to get myself, my family and friends ready in the case of an emergency, but in spreading that knowledge I got to meet great groups of kids, teachers and leaders! The enthusiastic and committed team at WCC made sure I had everything I needed to do a good job and made the experience even more fun.”

On behalf of our entire team, we send a special thank you to our supporters, volunteers, and centers and schools throughout New York and New Jersey for taking action towards preparing our youth.

Thank you!

Visit us at www.worldcares.org and find out more!

As World Cares Center continues with the Hurricane Irene long-term recovery, we’d like to take a moment to recognize the amazing efforts of all those we’ve worked with and those we continue to work with to achieve our shared goal of recovery. Disaster response is a collaborative effort. We are a collection of parts contributing to the same mission and our best achievements come when we work closely together. Throughout our ten years of operations, World Cares Center has been fortunate to work side by side with some of the most dedicated individuals and groups imaginable, and we are proud to begin our 11^th year with a network of inspiring colleagues. Thank you for everything you do and we hope to continue these relationships well into the future in service of those who need it most.

Visit www.worldcares.org to find our more about programs. 

Most of us find that Hurricane Irene happened a long time ago, but the truth is that there are still homeowners who are recovering from the effects of the August storm. As you know, World Cares Center (WCC) has taken on a major role in the relief efforts in New Jersey. Between coordinating more than 1,100 homeowners in need and 25 partner nonprofits and faith-based organizations, WCC currently goes into the field, making direct contact with the residents in need and assessing their home situations. Recently, our Leading & Managing program manager went together with a member of Burlington CERT to assess four homes in Northern New Jersey. After a thorough evaluation, the report on the assessment will be presented in the next Long Term Recovery meeting. Based on needs, available resources, and manpower, the homeowners will be receiving appropriate assistance. 

Each one of the 1,122 homeowners who called into WCC, have their own story of woe and perseverance. Cases range from elderly single women to families, to teens with recent surgery, and they all need our help to clean up their homes. In working with our wonderful partners, WCC helped to successfully respond to more than half of the initial requests. Some of their homes presented straightforward recovery solutions and their needs received prompt assistance. Other cases were more complicated and evolved over months of continued coordination and follow through. As we move forward with the rebuilding phase, we are looking ahead to a two-year recovery for the residents of New Jersey.

If you want to get involved and be part of this important work, please visit our website at www.worldcares.org and volunteer with us. Stay tuned for more stories to come!

Six months ago, Hurricane Irene struck New Jersey, resulting in extensive flooding and widespread damage. All 21 counties of New Jersey were declared disaster areas as World Cares Center (WCC) joined the immediate response to immediate needs.  Following this primary stage, remains active on the ground and is a member of 5 Long Term Recovery Committees (LTRC) in New Jersey. The collaborative, cooperative, and coordinated efforts among all agencies and volunteers involved within the long term recovery of New Jersey are vital to the success of these committees.   

The focus of a LTRC is to create community resilience to concentrate on those citizens who are still suffering from the wrath of Hurricane Irene. The LTRCs discuss crucial, pressing issues- emotional and spiritual support, cleanup and rebuilding needs- and with the help of local faith-based and community leaders, residents of New Jersey are being made aware that the LTRC members are reaching out to find and help them.  

If you are interested in volunteering to help us with rebuilding, case management, construction, and general labor, as well as administrative and supervisory needs, log onto worldcares.org and click the “involved” button to be a part of these relief efforts.

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Port-Au-Prince. I can’t believe it was two years ago that I spent most of my time in Haiti with a truly resilient group of people helping their own community recover from the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake and then a cholera outbreak.

I am continually humbled by the emergence of so much good, away from the cameras, in the small muddy fields where our Haitian team and our volunteers worked side by side. Although I was there to teach, I was taught. Although I was there to help and give hope, I received hope. To Mimi Douze, may this day give you peace in knowing all the good you do in memory of you mother. To my Haitian friends and team, my thoughts are with you. To our volunteers and partners, may we together renew our commitment to Haiti.

Moving into a new year, we usually like to reflect on the previous year’s achievements.  World Cares Center has served over 3,000 individuals and had great success with our annual fundraiser, The Iron Skillet Cook Off.  As we reflect on our successes, we know that our achievements would not be possible without the hard work, time, and dedication of our volunteers.  This year, volunteers have dedicated over 1500 hours of their time and talents to ensuring our programs are a success.   

Many of our dedicated volunteers hold full time jobs and have families.  For the help and dedication of each volunteer, we’d like to express a heartfelt:

We couldn’t do what we do without you!

Happy 2012!

A brand new year and of course a new resolution; make it the year you learn how to be prepared for an emergency, and most importantly, how to be ready to help your family, neighbors, and community.

World Cares Center trains local and faith-based leaders to emerge as disaster managers. We provide leaders with knowledge on how to appropriately utilize volunteers and how to prepare them to be effective volunteers.

WCC also works with emergency managers to create and coordinate community-wide response efforts.  Resulting from these initiatives are strong, resilient communities capable of providing care to each one of their constituents. 

Being knowledgeable of what steps to take during an emergency will allow you to maintain calmness and be alert in almost any situation. Learn how to prepare yourself and be ready to help create resilient communities.  Speak with your local Community Board Chair or Faith-based leader to learn about volunteer opportunities, and prepare yourself to help others.