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      Our Courses       

Join us for our transformative courses led by seasoned instructors who have firsthand experience responding to disasters in our region. While we can offer classes year-round, our primary training season runs from March to September, perfectly timed to prepare you for hurricane season. We make it easy for your team by bringing the training directly to your location. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your skills and ensure your team's readiness—sign up today!

  • Compassionate Care Course includes training for those who will be providing emotional and spiritual support for survivors and their families. The Course also covers what to say or do and what not to say or do. One important element is to provide the survivors with resources to assist in their recovery. We encourage every response team to have a dedicated Compassionate Care provider on the team.

    Target: Everyone who will have contact with survivors or will supervise groups that will have contact with survivors, those interested in learning more about what we can do as responders to bring relief to survivors of disasters, and potential trainers.

    Compassionate Care’s focus is to build a community that is emotionally and spiritually resilient.

  • Individual and Family Preparedness Course includes helping individuals and families prepare for disasters. Topics include being informed, making a family disaster plan, building a disaster kit, preparing to live without power or communication, taking precautions before a storm and knowing what to do after the storm.

    Target: Individuals and families who want to know how to prepare for disasters, persons interested in sharing preparedness information within their congregations, networks, organizations, clients and potential trainers.

    Prepared individuals and families are more resilient. Resilient individuals and families are better positioned to help themselves and others.

  • Congregational Preparedness Course includes helping congregations prepare for disasters. This includes being informed, making a disaster plan for the congregation, preparing the campus before a storm, identifying the most vulnerable members of the congregation and the local community, being ready to operate without electricity or wireless communications, knowing what to do after the storm, checking on the congregation and community and being prepared to respond to those in need.

    Target: Congregational leadership, laity, those interested in learning more about preparing their congregation for disasters and potential trainers.

    A prepared faith-based community and resilient congregations are prepared to help close the gap between disaster and recovery.

  • Organizational/Small Business Preparedness Course includes helping organizations and small business prepare for disasters. This includes being informed, creating a business disaster plan, preparing the site before a storm, operating without electricity or wireless communications, knowing what to do after the storm, checking on employees, understanding insurance issues, and understanding FEMA/SBA resources.

    Target: Organizations/Small Businesses interested in learning more about how to prepare for disasters and potential trainers.
    In socially vulnerable communities, in particular, the quicker the economic fabric of the community (grocery stores, daycare, …) is restored, the more resilient the community.

  • Disaster Readiness Coordinator Course includes best practices for the Disaster Readiness Coordinator (DRC). The DRC is a person or persons designated within a congregation , organization or small business who will serve as the central point of contact for disaster related communications and executing disaster response efforts.

    Target:

    Resilience:

  • Volunteer Coordination Course includes best practices for the Volunteer Coordinator to understand developing a plan to recruit, train and deploy spontaneous volunteers during a response. The Volunteer Coordinator’s role is to ensure all volunteers have access to the right tools and ensure all volunteers follow correct policies, procedures and safety requirements.

    Target: Anyone interested in learning more about how to recruit, train, and manage volunteers and potential trainers.

    Trained Volunteers help close the gap between disaster and recovery, contributing to resilience.

  • Hosting Out-of-Town Volunteers Course includes best practices for hosting out-of-town volunteers who have come into your area to assist with disaster response. This includes understanding the expectations of out-of-town volunteers, setting expectations and being a great host. Out-of-town volunteers are primarily looking for a place to sleep, food to eat and a warm shower.

    Target: Anyone interested in learning more about hosting out-of-town responders and potential trainers.

    Every local nonprofit is stretched thin. Anything we can do to welcome out-of-town volunteers who are contributing to our recovery enhances our resilience.

  • Donations Management Course includes best practices for operating a donation site. This includes determining what to collect and what you do not have the capacity to collect. Sorting donations, advertising the collection/distribution process, setting up the physical site and staffing are topics that will be covered in this course.

    Target: Anyone interested in learning more about operating a donations site or distributing donated materials and potential trainers.

    Efficiency in donations management drives resilience and recovery.

  • Mucking, Gutting, and Tarping Course includes training for response teams to be able to safely and correctly muck and gut a home so that it can dry out and prevent further damages while waiting for repairs. This course also includes how to assist a renter as well as a home owner with their damaged property. Resources for the residents that include information about what items can be salvaged and what items can’t be salvaged are vital to their recovery. This course also trains on the correct method for installing a temporary tarp over a damaged roof to reduce further damage.

    Target: Anyone who anticipates that they will work on their own home, their relative’s home, or their neighbor’s homes, either individually or as a member of a team and potential trainers.

    Trained volunteers do the work correctly on their own homes and neighbors’ homes, and work in teams on the community’s homes, building a resilient community.

  • Mucking and Gutting Course includes training for response teams to be able to safely and correctly muck and gut a home so that it can dry out and prevent further damages while waiting for repairs. This course also includes how to assist a renter as well as a home owner with their damaged property. Resources for the residents that include information about what items can be salvaged and what items can’t be salvaged are vital to their recovery.

    Target: Anyone who anticipates that they will work on their own home, their relative’s home, or their neighbor’s homes, either individually or as a member of a team and potential trainers.

    Trained volunteers do the work correctly on their own homes and neighbors’ homes, and work in teams on the community’s homes, building a resilient community.

  • Crisis Cleanup Course includes training on the platform and how best to utilize. The course includes understanding the data, how to input information, how to use the data to find and assist survivors and how to record the work done for those survivors. Also included is information about how a volunteer may serve as a “remote” phone operator for Crisis Cleanup during a disaster response.


    Target: Anyone who will use Crisis Cleanup to identify survivors who need help, will be reporting work completed or who wishes to work as a volunteer “remote” operator.

    Crisis Cleanup is the backbone of our local response efforts. It is an essential component in our holistic approach to resilience.

All GC-DR Associates are required to complete the Congregational or Organizational/Small Business Preparedness. Additionally, each Associate must designate at least one Disaster Readiness Coordinator (DRC) who has completed the Disaster Readiness Coordinator Course (we recommend two DRCs). Associate Members have plans to respond in a disaster.

Congregations are encouraged to assess the talents within their organization and thoughtfully determine how they can best serve.

We offer courses in various areas, including; Compassionate Care, Volunteer Coordination, Hosting Out-of-Town Volunteers, Crisis Cleanup, Donation Management and Mucking, Gutting, and Tarping homes.