Dear Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Volunteer,

It is an exciting time in Santa Clara County!  In partnership with the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services (OES), the City of Santa Clara is planning an exercise to increase our ability to provide emergency shelter care, and we invite CERT volunteers from throughout the County to participate!

On Thursday, September 14, 2017, the City of Santa Clara will be conducting an emergency shelter exercise, Sheltering Santa Clara, 2017, at the Santa Clara Convention Center from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., and we invite you to be a volunteer Shelter Worker and work alongside the Red Cross OR to be a volunteer Shelter Client/Evacuee.

Prior to the exercise, Shelter Workers will need to take a four hour Shelter Fundamentals Class on Thursday, August 24, 2017 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the Santa Clara Fire Training Center on 1900 Walsh Ave in Santa Clara. (Bring an appetite for pizza.)

To register for the August 24 training and the September 14 exercise, please click here:

Sheltering Santa Clara, 2017 Exercise Registration . If the maximum capacity for Shelter Workers is reached, a waiting list will be established.

There is also an opportunity to be a volunteer Shelter Client/Evacuee with a two hour time commitment on September 14 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon.  No prior training is required to arrive at the shelter and “role play” an evacuee in need of sheltering.  To volunteer and register as a Shelter Client/Evacuee, please indicate this when you register here: Sheltering Santa Clara, 2017 Exercise Registration

(There is one registration form for both volunteer opportunities.)

If the maximum capacity for Shelter Clients/Evacuees is reached, a waiting list will be established.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at lschoenthal@santaclaraca.gov or (408) 615-4990 or Santa Clara CERT Coordinator Jon Boucher at jboucher@santaclaraca.gov or (408) 615-4940 if you would like to discuss this opportunity.

Thank you for considering to volunteer for this important exercise to further increase the emergency preparedness of our community.

Warm regards,

Lisa

Lisa Schoenthal | Emergency Services Coordinator

City of Santa Clara

Office of Emergency Services

Santa Clara Fire Department

777 Benton St.| Santa Clara, CA  95050

(408) 615-4990, office; www.SantaClaraCA.gov