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Community Army

Queenslanders are no strangers to disasters and emergencies including drought, fire, flood and disaster and from experience we know that volunteers are vital in the disaster recovery phase. Communities and organisations rely on support from volunteers to provide clean-up, essential goods delivery, care, comfort and personal support to communities during and after a disaster and to vulnerable and isolated people when community needs exceed the ordinary capacity of their systems.

Volunteering Queensland’s Community Army is made up of our EV CREW and Care Army services.

EV CREW

Volunteering Queensland has partnered with the Queensland Government and Volunteering ACT to create the EV CREW program.

EV CREW stands for Emergency Volunteering Community Response to Extreme Weather. EV CREW connects councils and community organisations with people who want to help during disaster recovery activities.

Through EV CREW, Volunteering Queensland works alongside councils and organisations to facilitate the placement of volunteers with the required skills, availability and locality into the areas of the community that need help the most.

Since our EV CREW service began in 2008, we’ve made over 46,000 volunteer referrals to over 200 disaster preparation or recovery programs.

The difference emergency volunteers can make to a disaster-affected family, community group or business is immeasurable – even months and years after an extreme weather event.

Already registered?

When will I hear from you?

We will contact you to let you know when an organisation needs your help with recovery efforts in your community. If you are available to help, you can register for the volunteer activity and we will connect you with the organisation so you can start volunteering.

If you don’t hear from us straight after a disaster, don’t think we don’t need you! There are more opportunities for volunteering with long-term recovery projects in the weeks, months and years following a disaster, not just during the initial clean up.

Care Army

The Care Army is made up of everyday Queenslanders who want to help older and vulnerable community members, who may not have a wide circle of friends, family or neighbours to support them. The Care Army aims to boost social connection and support access to essential services with activities like delivering groceries and medicines for Queensland’s seniors.

Care Army was born during the COVID-19 pandemic but continues supporting vulnerable people suffering from isolation and experiencing difficulties in accessing essential services.

Volunteering Queensland works with the Queensland Government to administer the Care Army program, facilitating the recruitment and placement of volunteers.

As a care army volunteer, you can make a lasting difference in the lives of older and vulnerable Queenslanders who don’t have a wide circle of friends, family, or neighbours to support them.

How the Care Army program works

1. Register as a Care Army volunteer and we will let you know, by email, when an Organisation requires your help to support a vulnerable community.
2. Let us know if you are available for the position and we will share your details with the Organisation that coordinates the activity.
3. The Organisation will contact you by phone or email to provide more information and conduct their regular engagement processes.
4. Start volunteering!

Apply for a Blue Card with Volunteering Queensland

It is not necessary to have a Blue Card if you want to be a part of Volunteering Queensland’s Community Army.

If you would like to obtain a Blue Card, people who volunteer for EV CREW or Care Army can access a free blue card by following these steps:

1. Check if you are eligible online here
2. Start your application online at: https://my.bluecard.qld.gov.au/login
3. When asked to pick the organisation you volunteer for, choose Volunteering Queensland
4. Email emergencyvol@volunteeringqld.org.au with your Blue Card application number, and we will complete the process to link your application to Volunteering Queensland.
5. Once you have your new Blue Card number you can update this on your Emergency Volunteer Record here, or contact us at emergencyvol@volunteeringqld.org.au with the details and we can update our records for you.

The cost of your application will be covered by Volunteering Queensland.

Other volunteering opportunities

If Emergency Volunteering and Care Army aren’t for you, there are many other volunteering opportunities available with a huge variety of organisations. You can search and apply for these roles through Volunteering Queensland.

More information

Watch the videos below to learn more about how you can help.

Know your role