Sonoma Community Center recruiting emergency volunteers

The Sonoma Community Center is recruiting emergency volunteers to be ready to go into action in the next community emergency.|

As the first anniversary of the October wildfires winds down, the Sonoma Community Center is recruiting emergency volunteers to be ready to go into action in the next community emergency.

The center, which has been the city’s Emergency Volunteer Center since 2013, aims to build a cadre of registered and screened volunteers ready for activation when the next emergency hits.

To register, visit sonomacommunitycenter.org, find the “Get Involved” tab and select “Emergency Volunteers.” After registering, volunteers will get an email detailing the background verification process.

Once enrolled as an Emergency Volunteer in the database, volunteers will get periodic communications validating their status and their continued interest in being a volunteer and updating the inventory of skills or equipment available.

During the October wildfires, the center’s staff and volunteers manually registered 556 volunteers, many of whom were from out of town, and now hope to have a set group in the system ready to go without having to do time-consuming manual registration.

During the wildfires, the center assigned 367 people to support emergency operations, primarily at the evacuation centers.

Volunteers are a critical part of the city’s ability to respond during disasters, City Manager Cathy Capriola said.

“The City is extremely appreciative of the leadership and dedication of the Sonoma Community Center – first during the fires by registering and organizing our volunteers and now by improving their system and process for the future,” Capriola said.

More information is available online at sonomacommunitycenter.org, by calling 938-4626 ext. 1, or by visiting the center’s main office Monday through Friday at 276 E. Napa St. in Sonoma.

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