LISTING OF DISASTER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNTIIES

Every year, every disaster. 

  FOR ORGANIZATIONS REQUESTING VOLUNTEERS  

ORGANIZATIONS Need to recruit new volunteers?  If you are open to recruiting new volunteers for any reason, including a disaster, you're in the right place! Post your volunteer need in the VH Portal where volunteers will see it first! 


If your organization is tracking its volunteer hours outside of the VH portal...

...we ask that you use this template to collect the information required by FEMA. By using this template and returning it to Volunteer Houston to be included in community-wide reports Harris County and City of Houston officials are better situated to qualify for more federal funding that will be used to rebuild our community after a disaster.

If your organization would like to streamline the process of tracking volunteer hours by using the VH portal...

...please follow the instructions below.

 

LOGIN

Log in (or create) your Volunteer Houston account at www.volunteerhou.org/user/login

TIP

Hover over the orange circles (?) to learn more about each field while adding a new volunteer need.

STEP 1

Click "My Agency" in the black menu bar at the top of your screen to access the Agency Manager area.

 

 

 

 

 

 STEP 2

Click the "Needs" tab in the Agency Manager area to view a list of your current and expired needs or to add a new need.

 STEP 3

To add a NEW NEED click the blue button.

Steps 4 - 9 walk you through the most important fields in the "Add New Need" form.

 STEP 4

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

BY SELECTING THE CORRECT INITIATIVE (BY DISASTER NAME), YOUR NEED AND ITS CORRESPONDING DATA (# HOURS, # VOLUNTEERS, ETC) WILL BE AGGREGATED IN THE COMMUNITY-WIDE REPORTS SPECIFIC TO THIS DISASTER. THESE REPORTS ARE USED TO SECURE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WILL BE NEEDED TO REBUILD OUR COMMUNITY.

YOUR ORGANIZATION MAY REQUEST COPIES OF THESE REPORTS FROM VOLUNTEER HOUSTON.

  

 

 

STEP 5

Enter the number of hours this volunteer is expected to work for this shift.

STEP 6

If you already use Sterling Volunteers (SV), you can integrate your SV account into your Volunteer Houston account at no charge. This will make the "Require Background Check?" field visible to you when adding a new need.

Click here to start the free SV integration process.

NOTE: If you do not already have a SV account and have not integrated your account as described above you will not see the "Require Background Check?" field.

 

 


 

STEP 7

It is highly recommended that you select and add any of the pre-loaded volunteer qualification to your need. This will require volunteers who respond to watch a safety video specific to the disaster.

You can also choose to require volunteers to upload a copy of their driver's license or auto insurance policy. 

If you want to add qualifications specific to your organization contact info@volunteerhouston.org. 

STEP 8

"Virtual" is defined as a volunteer opportunity that can be conducted remotely on- or off-line by the volunteer.

 

 

 

STEP 9

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

FEMA reimbursement/funding requests require the complete address of the location where the volunteer work is taking place. 

STEP 10

Promote your need far and wide using the link provided in the VH portal. 

Using this link to ask volunteers to respond allows you to:

  1. track responses and hours in one place
  2. communicate with volunteers who respond
  3. generate reports

STEP 11

Monitor and communicate with the volunteers who respond to your need.

  1. Select the need from the complete list of needs under the "Needs" tab.
  2. Click "View Responses" in the top, right corner.
  3. Check the boxes next to the volunteers with whom you want to communicate.
  4. Click "Message Responders".
  5. Write your email and click "Send Email"

 

 

 

 

Contact the VRC

Please provide as much detail as possible. The more information we have, the quicker we can respond!