Pandemic/Disasters

Civic Life Today: the State of Global Civic Engagement
Points of Life, May 2022

This research by Points of Light considers the state of global civic engagement. The civic actions that dominated around the world were a mix of traditional and non-traditional engagement pathways, demonstrating people’s desire to engage in whatever way they could as COVID-19 affected more traditional ways of engagement.

Globally, the top three civic actions taken, as defined by Points of Light’s Civic Circle, were listening and learning, using your voice and volunteering. Volunteering is still among the most important civic activities, with 48% of global respondents volunteering by intentionally helping someone within the last 30 days.

Recovery Preparedness and Management
Civil Defence, July 2020. 

This document provides a set of guidelines for Recovery Managers, Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups, and Local Authorities to understand. respond and recover from national emergencies. It thoroughly outlines arrangements to have in place before, during and after an emergency. These guidelines will also prove useful to other agencies, organisations and groups involved in preparing for and managing recovery.

Emergency food services as an essential service
Wellington City Council, March 2020. 

Health guidelines if your organisation will be delivering emergency food services.

Wellbeing Tips
Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, April 2020. 

When times get tough, looking after our wellbeing is crucial. These tips are based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing and Te Whare Tapa Whā.

Volunteer Engagement Amid a Pandemic
VQ Volunteer Strategies (Smarter Impact), USA, March 2020. 

VQ Volunteer Strategies offer a list of Volunteer Engagement considerations and resources to explore during a pandemic. This list was created in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How to talk about COVID-19: Narratives to Support Good Decision-Making and Collective Action
The Workshop, March 2020. 

In a moment of crisis we must use narratives to provide hope, articulate the urgency and bring people together reminding them of that which matters most to us, our capacity to care for each other.

COVID-19 resources by language
Refugee health and wellbeing, March 2020. 

COVID-19 information and resources in various languages.

Wecare.kiwi – care and support through COVID-19
Carers NZ and IHC, March 2020. 

Carers NZ and IHC have launched wecare.kiwi to make it easy to care for and about each other. If you’re on your own, or caring for a vulnerable person, you may need some support.

COVID-19: General Advice on Safety
Volunteering Victoria, Australia, March 2020.

Safeguarding your volunteers: general advice on how to protect staff, volunteers and the people you serve.

COVID-19: Business Continuity
Volunteering Victoria, Australia, March 2020.

Do you have a business continuity plan? Are volunteers included in this plan? Here are some things to consider.

Volunteer Management during an emergency
Volunteer Ireland, March 2020.

Informal Volunteering Guide
Volunteer Ireland, March 2020.

Centralised coordination of spontaneous emergency volunteers: The EV CREW model
McLennan, Blythe; Molloy, Julie; Whitaker, Joshua; Handmer, John. Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 2016.

This paper presents spontaneous volunteering as an empowering and legitimate component of recovery and resilience and, when coordinated appropriately, it adds value to recovery, is rewarding for volunteers, and reduces associated risks for volunteers, recipient organisations and communities. It also emphasises that central coordination does not replace traditional emergency management volunteering nor informal helping behaviour and emergent volunteerism.