SEPA VOAD members will welcome the new director of Pennsylvania's lead agency for disaster response - the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) - at the next regional meeting in September.

If you could do something to protect your family, strengthen your community, build your confidence, and save time, money, and perhaps even someone's life, would you do it? Now, what if that "something" took just a few minutes of your time and was explained in three simple steps?

• SEPA VOAD calendar
• Preparedness calendar
• Be Red Cross Ready online presentation

VOAD showed off its impact in Southeastern Pennsylvania to two audiences recently. In May, reviewers from the Department of Homeland Security sat down with leaders of the Southeastern PA Regional Taskforce, which funds SEPA VOAD, to review their work.

VOAD volunteers were out in force on August 6, 2007 as Philadelphia tested its ability to respond to a mass casualty incident.

VOAD representatives attended the Department of Homeland Security's counter-terrorism trainings at Montgomery County Fire Academy the week of August 6, 2007.

At VOAD, we are always working to increase our impact in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region. To keep the program growing and to meet our preparedness goals, we depend on volunteers throughout the region who can help us make personal preparedness a priority within their communities.

Dozens of Red Cross and VOAD volunteers supported the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in mid-July by helping assemble 1,150 Emergency Preparedness Kits for older adults in the greater Philadelphia area.

In line with its mission to help the region prepare for disaster, SEPA VOAD is taking an active role in helping member agencies and other interested community groups to plan for the unexpected.

VOAD and the Red Cross welcome Caryn Gibson, the new VOAD Trainer and Christie Eastburn, the Interim VOAD Coordinator to the team.

John "Gar" Webb, Jr. became a VOAD volunteer in April. However, this wasn't his first experience with personal disaster preparedness. Gar has been a very prepared guy since the late seventies.

There are 113 agencies participating in the VOAD program. We at VOAD would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new agencies and say thank you to the ones that continue to be involved with us, choose to be prepared and offer their services when disasters affect our region.

VOAD would like to extend special thanks to. . .

VOAD has various volunteer opportunities coming up that you could become involved in. We are looking for volunteers to represent VOAD and distribute informative materials at community events and assist with registration at VOAD conferences: