Become a Team Member

If you think you would want to help Tri-State CART if there is a local disaster involving animals, PLEASE join our team now! We will first call upon our known volunteers before we can accept any "walk-in" volunteers. All walk-in volunteers will need to be trained and registered before they can help during a disaster. Getting that done before a disaster will allow you to help us as quickly as possible, when the animals really need us!

We need volunteers for many different jobs, so even if you don't want to work directly with the animals, we still need you!

The steps to becoming a member are below:

Read though the following pages (on the website Navigation page) so you have an understanding of what we do and what we would need help with in the event of a local declared disaster.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Disaster Overview
Volunteer Job Descriptions
Explination of Duties
Volunteer Code of Conduct
Response Kit for Volunteers

2. Read this code of conduct and also read/print/sign/mail-in this form to Bonnie.

3. Print off, fill out and send in the team member application and membership fee to Bonnie, along with Code of Conduct and any relevant training certificates you have. Her address is on the application.

4. Get Registered with ServeOhio - this provides liability coverage to you if you are activated during a disaster response in Ohio. http://www.serveohio.org/CitizenCorps/ Click on the yellow box in the center that says "Register (new Members)" Note: you may need to allow pop-ups to get the registration form. You're not fully registered until you attend an orientation session. These are scheduled from time to time and will be annouced to CART members.

5. Fill out the Indiana "application for general volunteers" found at: http://www.in.gov/boah/disaster/manMade.html This covers you as a responder to declared disasters in Indiana.

6. Take some training courses within a year of becoming a CART member (but don't put this off!) FEMA offers free training courses on-line available 24/7. This training is federally required for all our volunteers so that we can continue to comply with Federal regulations. When a course is completed, you are emailed a certificate. Print one for your files and another to be sent to Bonnie Morrison (or forward the email to her.) She will record your training in the Tri-State CART volunteer database and file the copy of the certificate. It is recommended that when you start a course, you first print the test questions and answer them as you go through the course. When you have answered all the questions, go to the on-line answer form and transfer your a,b,c,d answers and submit the sheet electronically. If you have any trouble with these courses, just let us know and we'll offer any help we can. These course are also offered as in-person courses from time to time and we'll announce these to the members. You can register for free to take the courses at: http://training.fema.gov/IS/ Look on the bottom right for the link to the NETC virtual Campus. Once there, you can register for the "IS" courses.

You'll need to complete IS-100, IS-700 and IS-800. The IS-10, IS-11 and IS-111 courses are related to animals and are recommended but not required. Additional info about the courses can be found at this link.
Team leaders and officers will also need to complete IS-200, IS-10 and IS-11.

7. Attend the training courses offered on the second Tuesday of every other month by Tri-State CART when you are available. Each year, we offer a team member orientation course that is required before you can be activated to help us.

8. Attend a training course presented by a national response agency such as American Humane or United Animal Nations. Tri-State CART hosts these organization's two or three day training sessions at least once per year. This allows you to learn the details of a disaster response for animals from the professionals that have responded all over the country. You will be amazed at how much there is to learn! You can see if a course will be offered soon at the "Training Seminar" link on the "Website Navigation" page.

9. Sign up with the Ohio Veterinary Emergency Responders (O.V.E.R.) You do NOT need to be a vet ot vet tech to sign up, but membership in OVER IS required by homeland security region 6 (our region) for all our volunteers. This group offers great training for it's members. Simply print, fill-out and send the following application directly to OVER
OVER Application

10. (Optional): Become a member of a CERT team. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team and these are popping up all over the tri-state. The training you get when you become a member is invaluable, not only for disaster response, but for your own disaster preparedness! All Tri-State CART members MUST be prepared to get their own family and animals to safety before responding to help others. This course will help you be prepared and trained to do that. CERT members get a backpack full of supplies and a hard hat upon completion of the orientation training. Then additional training sessions are often offered to keep your skills sharp.

11. (Optional): Become a registered volunteer with the Medical Reserve Corps. You do not need to be a medical professional to join this group. The orientation training is eye opening regarding the possible response to an outbreak or other medical disaster. MRC members are offered vaccinations first if a disease outbreak is expected so that they may help others during the disaster.

12. (optional): From time to time we will send out emails about other training opportunities around the tri-state. We encourage you to get as much training as possible and to provide Bonie Morrison, the Tri-state CART secretary, a copy of any certificate of completion you get or have so we may record it in your volunteer records. This allows us to better assess which volunteer is best suited to which task during a disaster