About RWTC
Ready When the Time Comes, a corporate volunteer program, taps the human resources of corporate America. The American Red Cross trains employees from partnering corporations and mobilizes them as a community-based volunteer force when disaster strikes. Through Grainger’s generosity, the RWTC program launched a national pilot project to model corporate volunteer involvement in disaster response. 16 Red Cross chapters are working to establish more than 100 corporate partners and to train several thousand RWTC volunteers.
How Does It Work?
- Local companies partner with their local Red Cross chapter, recruiting employees as volunteers who the chapter trains for disaster response.
- Partner Companies commit to making these employees available for service at least one day per year.
- When a local, large-scale disaster occurs, the Red Cross calls the Partner Companies, which then activate their volunteers as directed.
- RWTC volunteers work alongside Red Cross employees and trained disaster volunteers.
The Red Cross chapter will train volunteers, using national training curricula, in one or more of these specialty areas:
- Sheltering
- Mass Care and Feeding
- Damage Assessment
- Bulk Distribution
- Casework
- Community Response Center (Phone Bank)
- Intake and Management of Spontaneous Volunteers
- Media and Public Relations
- Other services, as needed by the local Red Cross Chapter
RWTC volunteers may be asked to respond to any major local disaster:
- Tornado
- Hurricane
- Floods
- Major fires that displace large number of residents
- Periods of extreme heat or cold
Expectations of Corporate Partner
Partner Companies are asked to:
- Sign a non-binding statement of understanding which establishes a working relationship between the Red Cross and the company.
- Commit to recruiting employees as volunteers.
- Designate a primary and a secondary liaison person who will be responsible for managing the program within the company. These are the people who the Red Cross will call in a disaster when the RWTC Team needs to be activated.
- Provide a location, logistical support and an appropriate time for employee volunteers to be trained.
- Be an active partner – maintain ongoing liaison with the Red Cross, stay in communication with the volunteers, participate in an annual mock disaster preparedness drill, develop other ways the company can support the work of the Red Cross chapter.
- Red Cross chapters also offer many different volunteer opportunities throughout the year – RWTC companies and employees are encouraged to become involved in the life of the chapter.
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