There’s no shortage of volunteer opportunities around. It’s the same with CPR, First Aid, and CERT trainings. You just need to know where to look:
CERT Training
The CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program trains people in basic disaster-response skills, including fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and medical operations. Using classroom trainings and in-person exercises, CERT members can help neighbors or coworkers in an emergency when professional responders are not immediately available.
• Santa Barbara County Fire Department
(mike.eliason@sbcfire.com; [805] 681-5556)
• Santa Barbara City Fire Department
(ymcglinchey@santabarbaraca.gov; [805] 564-5711)
• UC Santa Barbara/Isla Vista
(james.caesar@ucsb.edu; [805] 450-1437)
• City of Carpinteria
(mimia@ci.carpinteria.ca.gov; [805] 755-4401)
• City of Goleta
(arodriguez@cityofgoleta.org; [805] 961-7571)
• City of Lompoc
(C_Ruda@ci.lompoc.ca.gov; [805] 736-4513)
• City of Santa Maria/City of Guadalupe
(rdugger@cityofsantamaria.org; [805] 925-0951)
CPR and First Aid Training
• American Red Cross, Central
California Region (redcross.org; [805] 687-1331)
• Channel Islands YMCA Association
([805] 569-1109; ciymca.org)
• REI ([805]-560-1938)
• Stop the Bleed: Safety Matters Certified Training
(cprtrainingsb.com; [805] 705-9222)
Listos Training
Listos is a basic public education program in emergency and disaster preparedness for Spanish-speaking communities, with a focus on individuals, their families, and their homes.
(cafsti.org; mike.williams@cafsti.org)
Volunteer
• Foodbank of Santa Barbara County (foodbanksbc.org/disasterrelief/)
• Santa Barbara County Promoters Network
(sbcpromotersnetwork.weebly.com)
• Direct Relief International (directrelief.org)
• American Red Cross, Central California Region
(redcross.org; [805] 687-1331)
• Habitat for Humanity for Southern Santa Barbara County
(sbhabitat.org; [805] 692-2226)
• Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade (sbbucketbrigade.org)
• Santa Barbara Response Network
(sbresponsenetwork.org; [805] 699-5608)
• Montecito Emergency Response & Recovery Action Group, or MERRAG, pronounced “mirage” (merrag.org)