Empower Yourself, Help your Community
Become a Helper
We love Fred Roger’s quote: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
The entire world is going through a hard time right now, and it’s easy to feel helpless. Would you like to feel more empowered to help your community? We have compiled a list of community safety and emergency response classes that you can take to gain skills that will allow you to give back to your community.
Community Safety Classes
When the governor’s stay-at-home orders are lifted, check out these trainings, or look for similar courses or portions of these courses online to get started now.
STOP THE BLEED is a FREE program to help you help others in the event of an emergency. Stop the Bleed is a national awareness campaign and call-to-action. It is intended to cultivate grassroots efforts that encourage bystanders to become trained, equipped and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.
All Stop the Bleed classes are free and open to all members of the public. Look for local class listings at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center. No need to sign up, just show up. You also do not need to have a medical background (but if you do, that’s fine, too).
First Aid and CPR Certification
In order to meet OSHA standards for workplace first aid certification, you must complete at least a portion of your training in person. Several businesses offer these classes in our area. (We do not endorse any particular course):
CERT Courses
The Community Emergency Response Team course benefits every citizen who completes it. These individuals will “become better prepared to respond to and cope with the aftermath of a disaster in our community.” In essence, they become auxiliary responders. First responders like us can become quickly overwhelmed in the wake of a disaster, and this is where CERT course graduates can really shine. Some local CERTs include:
Volunteering Your Time
Perhaps you want to take your knowledge a bit further and apply it in a new helping volunteer role. Here at OWL VFD, we are always looking for new members. And through Prince William County Fire and Rescue System, you’d receive all the training you would need to fill one of the greatest helping roles around.
You can also peruse volunteerprincewilliam.org to see additional ways you and your skills are needed in our area. One of the greatest gifts you can ever give is your time.
Stay safe.
Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Fire Department (OWL VFD) is one of the largest and busiest volunteer fire departments in the United States, with almost 300 members. OWL VFD provides fire suppression, EMS care, and rescue services to 80,000 residents in our 27-square-mile area through the operation of three fire stations. OWL volunteer firefighters and EMT’s work the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift, five days a week, plus 24/7 holidays and weekends. For more information on OWL VFD, become a fan on our Facebook page here.