Fundraising for my small nonprofit has been a total failure, dear ones. Right now, I’m struggling to reignite creative juices and come up with a new project idea to pitch to potential funders. Our first project, the Biochar Cookstove Challenge has plum worn me out and hasn’t tickled the fancy of the agencies we’ve approached.
Right now, I’m working on the idea of creating TimeCapsule2050, a virtual vault which would be open for entries until 2020. Along with archived information on efforts and ideas to mitigate and adapt to climate change, the capsule would also contain stories and pictures from young people from around the globe depicting the world they envision in 2050.
Folks would be able to look into the capsule but nothing new could be added. A live newsfeed following developments after 2020 would flow alongside the capsule.
Here, for example, is the Twitter list I have of agencies, climatologists, environmental research agencies and the tweets I tag #TimeCapsule2050.
In the meantime, as money became scarcer and scarcer and I had to suspend work with my contractors, I’ve become a tad desperate about how to spend my days. How to fill the hours when I’m not doing yoga, working out in the gym, or hiking the hills of Sausalito with Agatha Pocket.
In between Harvey and Irma I decided to sign up for CERT training. I was lucky to secure a spot for November 4 and 11 as all the trainings in my county are filled. I have to say I’m starting to get a little nervous about it. Am I too old? Too prone to anxiety? Am I organized enough? What will I do with Ms. Pocket when I’m gone helping out during a disaster? (The other day, when a brush fire broke out alongside 101 in Sausalito, I was stuck in Mill Valley for hours. I’d left my phone home and the fire was at my freeway exit. The trauma of the past few weeks had me terrified about the safety of my home. A total over-reaction.)
Do I still have what it takes to be a member of a Community Emergency Response Team?
It seems simple enough, right?
- Basic First Aid Stop bleeding, check respiration, learn how to splint. Basic first aid is taught to save lives, and both assess and log injuries to report to first responders when they arrive.
- Manage Small Fires. Learn how to use a fire extinguisher and even put out a real fire. Importantly, you’ll also learn when it’s best to evacuate.
- Organization. CERT teaches the critical component of organization, incident command, and logistics. All are practiced in two simulations on the last day
People of all ages have taken the CERT training. During CERT classroom training, if one has a concern about doing a skill like lifting, just let the instructor know. You can learn from watching. We would like everyone who wants to go through the training to have an opportunity to participate and learn the skills. CERT educates participants about local hazards and trains them in skills that are useful during disaster and life’s everyday emergencies.
There are many jobs within CERT for someone who wants to be involved and help in an emergency. Following a disaster, CERT members are also needed for documentation, comforting others, logistics, etc. Non-disaster related team activities may include keeping databases, organizing a neighborhood group, planning activities, public education, helping with special events, and organizing exercises and activities. Ready Marin
This is a really long video simulating a CERT Team at work.
Do you have any experience working as a volunteer during disasters?
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well
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