The average person as well as those with special skills can volunteer to receive training to help others in your community in emergency situations.

New York City has many organizations that prepare volunteers to help in an emergency.

• The Medical Reserve Corps is a trained group of almost 6,000 volunteer health professionals ready to respond to health emergencies—physicians, physician assistants, nurses, EMTs/Paramedics, pharmacists, physical therapists, social workers, and more.



• The NYC Fire Department (FDNY) offers CPR training and fire safety education.



• The American Red Cross provides training for volunteers.



• NYC CERT: trains volunteers in basic response skills needed for fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster medical operations, and traffic control. After graduating, teams support their local communities by assisting with emergency education and response.



• The NYC Citizen Corps Council promotes grassroots emergency preparedness and volunteerism and helps enable New Yorkers to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Last Updated: April 12, 2012