My organisation needs volunteers

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

Emergency volunteers are a vital and significant part of our community. They provide valuable assistance at times of disaster as well as support preparedness and recovery activities.

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.

How can EV CREW help my organisation?

Offers of assistance from people willing and able to assist at times of need can be challenging and easily overwhelm government and non-government organisations. However, when managed appropriately, emergency volunteers can be valuable and flexible resource to their community and those in need.

Volunteering Queensland through EV CREW can help councils and organisations enhance their preparedness and capacity to manage emergency volunteers through:

• Recruitment and registration of offers to volunteer
• Matching volunteers with organisations
• Training and sector development
• Development of standard operating procedures
• Resilience building
• Information and advice

We also work with disaster response agencies to improve their volunteer management capacity. We provide information on training, debriefing, communications, health and safety, insurance, rights and responsibilities and community education. This ensures that EV CREW volunteers can work to their fullest capacity in an environment which is as safe and rewarding as possible.

Volunteering Queensland provides training and professional development to support Volunteer Involving Organisations and Councils in the management of and coordination of Spontaneous Disaster Volunteers.

How the EV CREW program works

1. A disaster strikes and EV CREW is activated by the Queensland Government.
2. Your council or community organisation makes a request for emergency volunteers.
3. We will confirm the details of your request including where and when volunteers are needed, what they need to bring, how to dress and any additional requirements or considerations.
4. We will contact emergency volunteers registered in your required area, providing all the details of the recovery activity and inviting them to register to participate.
5. We will connect you with the volunteers who are available before the activity is scheduled.

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.

How can Care Army support my organisation?

Care Army volunteers support volunteering involving organisations that deliver services to community members who need assistance in a variety of ways. This may include:

• getting groceries and other essential supplies,
• attending medical appointments,
• using communication and entertainment technology,
• garden care, and
• having a friendly face to provide company and reassurance.

In most cases, those receiving Care Army support do not have access to family, friends, or neighbours to help them.

How the Care Army program works

• Your organisation makes a request for care army volunteers.
• Your request is processed and if your organisation and the volunteer role are eligible, a member of our team will get in contact to inform you of the next steps in the process and ask for additional information if required.
• Registered Care Army volunteers will be invited via email to express their interest in your position.
• Once we have a group of volunteers willing to help your organisation, we will provide their details, so you can contact them and start the regular engagement process your organisation has in place.