How to become a volunteer- Canadian Red Cross

How to become a volunteer

Contact your local Red Cross office for a volunteer application package.

Deployment conditions

Under the agreement with American Red Cross, Canadian volunteers are sent for three week assignments to work within the American Red Cross disaster response. The costs of travel, food and lodging are paid by the Red Cross but there is no salary.

Basic requirements

Emergency response experience (such as work with police or fire departments, Emergency Medical Technicians, Emergency Measures Organizations or expertise in areas such as human resources, communications etc.)
A current passport that won't expire within 6 months
First Aid Level B (current within the last two years)
A clean bill of health
3 references that WILL be called
Permission from your boss to leave work for three weeks

Type of training needed for volunteers

Red Cross volunteers are well-trained. There are different levels of training required to be a volunteer and in the case of disaster services volunteers, there are more than 15 areas of functionally specific training. These include shelter management, logistics, first aid, family support services and family tracing. Courses are offered throughout the year at various Red Cross offices.