Home > Regional MRC Coordinators > Elizabeth H. Fitch > Region IV Newsletters >

Region IV MRC Update - December 2005

In this issue:

• First Regional MRC Conference
• Happy International Volunteer Manager Appreciation Day
• Internal Marketing—Getting Built-In Support
• Helpful Online Resources
• Upcoming Health Observances
• Regional Coordinator Contact Information

---

First Regional MRC Conference

On November 10, 2005, the first Region IV MRC Conference was held at the Renaissance Atlanta Downtown. 48 participants representing seven states attended the conference, along with representatives from the MRC Program Office, the National Citizen Corps Office, and HHS Region IV. There were educational concurrent sessions, updates from the MRC Program Office, a small group discussion, and a thought-provoking luncheon presentation.

Presentations and handouts from the conference can be downloaded from the Region IV Message Board on the National MRC Web site.

Unit coordinators discuss lessons learned from MRC involvement in the 2005 hurricane season.		Dr. William Waugh presents on the history of citizen involvement in emergency management.

Based on the response from conference participants to the conference evaluation, MRC Units within Region IV will begin having quarterly regional conference calls to share information and receive updates. Ideally, we will have a yearly face-to-face regional meeting, if time and resources permit.

Happy International Volunteer Manager Appreciation Day (December 5)!

 Internal Marketing—Getting Built-In Support

Frequently, we focus all of our attention on marketing our program to potential volunteers, and we forget that we need internal support in place to help sustain our programs and make them more effective. The people who work around you need to know what you do and what a great resource MRC volunteers are, so don’t be afraid to toot your own horn! As Susan Ellis puts it, “They can’t fathom it if you don’t tell them it!”

A few internal marketing questions to ask yourself include:

• Does the person who answers the phone at your agency know enough about your program to be able to refer potential volunteers to you?
• Are your marketing materials prominently displayed in the public areas of your building?
• Do the people who will be expected to work with your volunteers know about your program and how it is run? Do they know how you screen and train volunteers? Do they know what your volunteers are capable of?
• Do you provide regular (quarterly if not monthly) reports to your colleagues, even if you aren’t required to?
• Do you get to talk about MRC in staff meetings?

If you answered no to any of these questions, you may want to take a look at your internal marketing of your program. Having the support of others in your organization can help your program be more sustainable in the long run!

Helpful Online Resources

Just a reminder: There is a collection of Web sites that may be useful to MRC Unit Coordinators. The easiest way to look at these links is by topic—if you go to the archive page, click on the drop-down box next to “filter by topic” (at the top of the page) and you will see the topics available. Pick a topic, such as Risk Management/Liability, and click the “look” button, and you will see the Web resources I’ve collected under that topic, along with a brief clipping from the page and possibly a note from me about the link. Recent additions include: Office of Domestic Preparedness—State Contacts, Key Concepts of Disaster Mental Health, UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters and Volunteer Florida - Publications. Newly added—a whole section of resources on Avian Influenza/Pandemic Flu. Happy surfing!

Upcoming Health Observances

December 1 is World AIDS Day 
 

December 4–10 is Hand Washing Awareness Week


December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month

 


January is Cervical Health Awareness Month


February is Heart Health Month


February 3 is Wear Red Day

 

Regional Coordinator Contact Information

Elizabeth H. Fitch, M.P.A.
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center	Phone: (404) 562-4276
61 Forsyth St, SW	Fax: (404) 562-7899
Suite 5B95	E-mail: elizabeth.fitch@hhs.gov
Atlanta, GA 30303

 back to top

Also, don't forget to regularly visit the National MRC Web site: sponsored by the Office of the Surgeon General
The Medical Reserve Corps is a specialized component of Citizen Corps.

Last Updated on 8/14/2006