Area agencies coordinate disaster relief efforts

They’re hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

The Lee County Red Cross, Lee County Emergency Management Agency, the East Alabama Amateur Radio Club, United Way, Lee County Humane Society and other area agencies and churches are joining efforts to create the Volunteer Reception Center (VRC).

The VRC’s site of operations will be at Pepperell United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Opelika.

The organization is designed to act as a first stop where volunteers can be matched with the agency that best suits their talents.

While Fay, Gustav and Hanna have been in the news lately, the lessons learned from Katrina are still fresh in the mind of Jennifer D. Ryan, executive director of the Lee county chapter of the American Red Cross.

She said Katrina illustrated the challenges of training a volunteer work force during a crisis situation.

“In the Katrina response, the Red Cross had a very large number of volunteers that we weren’t able to use because we didn’t have jobs for them,” said Anne Laband, Red Cross staffing supervisor. “Other agencies needed that help but didn’t have the means of capturing those volunteers.“

Ryan said she hoped efforts like the VRC would encourage continued coordinated efforts between disaster response agencies.

“As the Red Cross, we have a very important role after disasters, but we can’t do it all,” Ryan said.