CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield-Jefferson Chapter, American Red Cross, recently presented Janet Kephart with disaster services instructor authorization. Kephart began her Red Cross career as a Hurricane Katrina volunteer and has been a volunteer responder to several additional natural disasters since then, in several states, as well as Pennsylvania. Kephart recently volunteered for a 21-day deployment in Oklahoma where she is currently working in a shelter and providing assistance to victims of the Oklahoma winter storms. Between disaster deployments, Kephart has become a very active CPR, first aid and babysitting instructor and volunteers in the office three days per week in addition to her disaster duties.
Becoming a disaster services instructor is a long process and requires a broad base of experience that Kephart has been able to gain relatively quickly due to her tireless dedication to the Red Cross.
Kephart plans to further her disaster training by attending the Disaster Response Institute training weekend hosted by the Clearfield-Jefferson Chapter March 16-18.
The training will be held at the Clearfield High School and is open to the public and consists of mainly intermediate level disaster training with some basic level training offered as well. Those who would like to become a disaster volunteer or are interested in attending the disaster institute, should call the Clearfield-Jefferson Chapter at 765-5516 or stop in to the office at 309 W. Locust St. in Clearfield to fill out a volunteer application and register for training.
The Red Cross currently has needs for both local and national volunteers, even if you are able to donate only a couple of hours a month.