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Partnership Solutions for Employee Volunteerism After a Disaster

Washington, D.C. - To highlight upcoming National Volunteer Week (April 28-May 3), Business Roundtable’s Partnership for Disaster Response hosted today “Training Your Employees to Volunteer During a Disaster,” a forum with senior executives from leading businesses and volunteer organizations to identify key management issues in encouraging employee volunteerism and best practices in training employees to be disaster-ready volunteers. Partnership for Disaster Response is made up of a cross sector of the nation’s top companies that aim to bring together the many resources and capabilities of the private sector to enhance the business community’s response efforts to address the most critical needs and mobilize the unique technologies and resources of its member companies.

Based on the discussion, Business Roundtable will publish a business guide on disaster volunteering by the start of hurricane season (June 1, 2008). The guide will feature innovative programs, strategies for motivating employees to volunteer and recommendations for policies companies should put in place to encourage volunteerism after a disaster.

The companies participating in the forum included Fannie Mae; IBM; Motorola and W.W. Grainger, Inc. The volunteer organizations participating included American Red Cross; HOPE Worldwide and Points of Lights & Hands On Network. John Solomon, a reporter with NPR and currently writing a book on citizen preparedness, moderated the discussion.

"The business community’s greatest asset is its hardworking, dedicated people. As we have seen with recent disasters, employees have demonstrated an extraordinary willingness and capacity to contribute to relief efforts," said Tom Lehner, director of public policy at Business Roundtable. “As the 2008 hurricane season approaches, we need events like this that gather the leaders in the field — from both the private and nonprofit sectors — to talk about this unique opportunity to leverage company’s human resources in disaster response.”

This event is a product of a new partnership between Business Roundtable and the American Red Cross established last fall that aims to strengthen collaboration in preparing and responding to a disaster.

“Disastrous events evoke powerful charitable responses from America’s workforce. Working with relief agencies to train employees in advance of an emergency can be a very effective way for companies to contribute to disaster response efforts and make a significant impact on communities in need,” said Suzy DeFrancis, chief public affairs officer, American Red Cross. “We need to continue to strengthen systems to match community needs with the resources that companies are able to provide during a disaster.”

"Employees have a tremendous range of expertise that can be extremely helpful at the time of a disaster. Training and preparation in advance of disaster ensures that employees are ready to meet the need for volunteers," said Jan Tratnik, senior director of global communications and public affairs, W.W. Grainger Inc. "The Ready When the Time Comes program trains employees to serve as Red Cross certified volunteers during a disaster. The fact that many companies are signing on to the program clearly demonstrates the private sector’s growing commitment to provide human resources for disaster relief. ”

For more information and to view pictures from the event, visit www.respondtodisaster.org.

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