One thing learned from the derecho of 2020 is that volunteers are important to helping after a disaster and that Benton County could use more volunteers.

The Benton County Disaster Recovery Coalition is hosting training for anyone in Benton County who would like to assist with future disasters. The training will be held on Thursday, September 9, 2021 and participants can attend either virtually or in-person. The day-long training will be from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. In person training will be located at the Benton County Emergency Management Agency Emergency Operations Center, 213 2^nd Avenue, Vinton. Registration is required and can be done by contacting United Way of East Central Iowa at Phone: 319-398-5372.

Participants in the training will learn skills to help families impacted by disasters, safety priorities and purpose, and prior street teams and damage assessment experience. In addition, disaster volunteer management, best practices, and disaster preparedness will all be discussed.

Presenters will include Kayla Paulson, from United Way of East Central Iowa, Sarah Eggert with the State of Iowa’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department, and Michael Rojas with Volunteer Iowa.

For more information contact Scott Hansen, Benton County Emergency Management Director at: 319-472-4519.