The Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (Texas VOAD) is…

a unified organization that fosters, facilitates, and maximizes the ability of our members to serve the communities and the people of Texas with more effective service and more efficient utilization of resources through the Guiding Principles:

 Cooperation | Communication | Coordination | Collaboration.

Executive Committee Update

Dear Texas VOAD Members and Friends, 

We would like to take a moment and express our thanks for the coordinated efforts in response to the tornadoes that struck North Texas in early April. In building on lessons learned and preparing for the 2012 hurricane season, we encourage you to take time during the month of May to update your knowledge base and seek out training opportunities.  Take action today and register! 

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute offers a variety of online and classroom based courses. The Independent Study Program offers free online, self-paced, learning opportunities including courses needed to attain NIMS compliance. http://training.fema.gov/emi/ 

PreparingTexas.org is home to our State’s robust training catalog which posts training opportunities across the state, including advanced ICS courses. While you’re registering for classes don’t forget to update your transcript!

3rd Annual Texas Unites Conference provides an opportunity to network with a diverse group of individuals and expand your knowledge. The Conference will be held June 13th – 15th at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk in San Antonio. http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1063159 

Lastly, keep an eye out for training opportunities distributed through the Texas VOAD list-serve. To join the list-serve please e-mail me at kdischino@savechildren.org. For more information about Texas VOAD please check out our website www.TexasVOAD.org and follow-us on Twitter at @TexasVOAD. 

We look forward to seeing you at upcoming trainings!

Kate Dischino

Texas VOAD Secretary/Treasurer 

Past Executive Updates

Member Spotlight   Society of St. Vincent de Paul

One of the oldest and most successful charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization of approximately 700,000 men and women throughout the world who volunteer to seek out and provide person-to-person aid to the poor and needy in 142 countries on five continents. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul-South Central Region is part of the National Council of the United States, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Inc. which has a long history in the United States of Disaster Relief and Recovery. St. Vincent de Paul has been doing disaster relief in the United States since the 1840’s and is one of the founding members of NVOAD.

In Texas, SVDP-SCR provides direct relief to families immediately after a disaster through its volunteers called Vincentians and also provides Disaster Case Management for Long Term Recovery through a combination of both volunteers and staff. St. Vincent de Paul has chapters called Councils in the cities of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Brownsville, Del Rio, El Paso, San Angelo, Tyler, Midland/Odessa, Paris, Jefferson, Texarkana, Beaumont, and a number of other smaller communities. As a state wide grass roots organization, SVDP is there when the disaster hits and is there for the long term recovery efforts. NVOAD named SVDPUSA as its member organization of the year for the work the Society did in the 2011 Texas Wildfires. For more information on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, please go to www.svdpusa.org. or contact the South Central Region Disaster Chair, Gail Bertrand at gbertrand@svdpscr.org.