The District of Columbia MRC (DC MRC) provides support to a community of over 700,000 community members in the nation’s capital. The unit is comprised of approximately 370 medical and non-medical volunteers, including veterinarians, pharmacists, doctors, nurse practitioners, dentists, EMTs, radiology technicians, and more.

Given its location, the unit supports both national and local-level events. For the Presidential Inauguration earlier this year, volunteers supported the event, as well as two balls and events held at the U.S. Capitol Building. During these events, unit volunteers assisted at medical aid stations, primarily through patient tracking activities. 

In the coming months, the DC MRC has many volunteer recruitment events planned. These include participation in U.S. Senate National Preparedness Month activities and meetings with older adult groups. The unit is also conducting targeted recruitment efforts in two of the District’s wards, Wards 7 and 8, which includes meetings with Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs).

“We are working to ensure that volunteers can help people where they live,” said DC MRC Unit Leader Sharon Pellum.

Under its MRC State, Territory, and Tribal Nations, Representative Organizations for Next Generation (MRC-STTRONG) grant, the DC MRC Unit is developing a robust volunteer recruitment campaign. While still in its early stages, the campaign may include bus shelter, television, and radio ads.

To prepare its volunteers for service, the unit recently participated in a Point of Distribution (POD) exercise with about 10 volunteers. During the exercise, they trained on how to assist a Receipt State Store (RSS) warehouse. This simulated a scenario in which an agency like CDC delivers a large cache of supplies into the warehouse, and volunteers learned how to help break them down for storage and distribution.

Also, under its MRC-STTRONG grant, the unit is focusing on Stop the Bleed and developing Just-in-Time training (JITT) videos for MRC volunteer training for how to serve in a POD. To date, the DC MRC Unit has trained approximately 30 volunteers as Stop the Bleed trainers. They are installing Stop the Bleed kits in various locations throughout the District, including public and charter schools, community recreation center, and other public facilities, in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).

The JITT training videos, designed for POD orientation and training, will serve as a refresher for those who have already been trained before they are deployed.

In speaking about the DC MRC Unit’s volunteers, Pellum noted that they “show up when we call them. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, volunteers come out. I am very thankful for them.”