Coordinating Volunteer Assistance for Afghan Guests at Fort McCoy – Part 2

In this episode of The S-Files, we are continuing a multi-episode look at how organizations have mobilized volunteers to assist the Afghan guests staying at Fort McCoy and respond to disasters here in Wisconsin. Our second episode focuses on regional coordination efforts by two organizations that are helping to create local Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs) through Serve Wisconsin’s Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) grant. We start our conversation with Jen Schmitz from River 2 Ridge Disaster Resilience, which is our West Central Wisconsin VGF grantee. We next speak with Aimee Wollman Nesseth from the Northwestern Wisconsin Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition from Wisconsin Emergency Management, which is our Northwest Wisconsin VGF grantee. Listen in to learn how these organizations are communicating across their newly developed regional and local VOAD networks to support efforts assisting the Afghan guests, including how they have brought together the organizations in their region. You can also learn about how these organizations have used their volunteer networks and organizational resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.