We are excited to announce that we have a Wisconsin CCLS, Susan “Boon” Murray, deploying with Children’s Disaster Services in Oroville, CA! Â Please keep those displaced and affected by the flooding, as well as all the emergency responders and disaster volunteers in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to navigate this disaster. Â
Wisconsin CCLS serving in Oroville, CA! Read More »
IMMEDIATE NEED: Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has been asked by the American Red Cross to have two teams of volunteers ready to go to Oroville, CA, if needed to help assist as evacuations are underway. Residents are being evacuated after the spillway on a major dam began to break over the weekend. The Red Cross
Deployment Alert: Oroville Dam in CA Read More »
We are so excited to have these (pictured) child life specialists and students joining the CLDR movement from the recent Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) training in Independence, Missouri! Participants at this training spent 27 hours together preparing to work with kids in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. We want to thank all those who made the
14 CLDR Members Attend CDS Training in MO Read More »
I know I have mentioned a lot about the kiddos and their families I’ve encountered. However, I also want to be sure to share these things as well: The Shelter: the cots and the small area surrounding them became their home I remember when I was playing with one kiddo he asked me if I
“Want to see my home?” Read More »
Our day was filled with lots of adventures from lost GPS signals to unknown place to be and unknown location for staying the night. Once it was all figured out where we would be going, we hit the road. We were told we were going to the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds consisted of a shelter with
Making Play Out of Anything after Hurricane Matthew – Kelsey Loftus Read More »
Sitting here on the plane, a million thoughts run through my head. Starting with how this all came to be, to what this journey will be like. To think this all started from me responding to an email stating I’m available is crazy. I remember Children’s Disaster Services writing back stating it may be difficult
Deploying = Out of My Comfort Zone = Best Place to Be! Read More »
Sunday night at 8:09pm I received a text from one of my local teammates and all it said was “Deploying!! Can you go?” To be honest, my first thoughts were “I’m not able to go…” I sat there trying to wrap my head around my hesitations… You see, last week there was a possibility that I would be
Ready, set, go! Stand down…GO! Read More »
A few weeks ago, my local CLDR team got our first dispatch call: a multi-family apartment fire with 2 fatalities. We were being called to assist with a grandmother and her child with autism who both were living in the complex and evacuated at this time. Woah…fire, death, autism…this is a big one to handle
One Trauma Unveils Another… Read More »
We can’t thank the Florida Association of Child Life Professionals (FACLP) enough for hosting the Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) training in Tampa last weekend!  We are receiving the final paperwork for participants as we type this and CDS certifications are in process.  What a great group of 40 enthusiastic people ready to serve vulnerable kids after disasters!  As one
CDS Training Workshop a.k.a. “Superhero Training” – Tampa Read More »
We are excited to have a Michigan Certified Child Life Specialist joining the Children’s Disaster Services(CDS) teams in Louisiana! Â Thus far the CDS teams have cared for over 165 children – keep up the great work! We continue to keep all those recovering from this disaster in our thoughts and prayers as they continue to
Michigan CCLS joining the CDS team in LA! Read More »