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 Partners & Affiliates
Mass MRC Units
Citizen Corps
American Red Cross
"Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which, like the air and the water, belongs to everybody, I set myself to consider in what way mankind might be best served, and what service I was myself best fitted by nature to perform."
Francis Bacon
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The Citizen Corps is one of several broad groups of volunteers organized under the USA Freedom Corps, an umbrella organization created as a result of the President's desire to build on the countless acts of service, sacrifice, and generosity that followed September 11th.
In addition to the Medical Reserve Corps, the Citizen Corps includes the following groups:
- The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medical operations.
- The Fire Corps promotes the use of citizen advocates to enhance the capacity of resource-constrained fire and rescue departments at all levels: volunteer, combination, and career. Citizen advocates can assist in activities ranging from fire safety outreach and youth programs, to administrative support.
- USA on Watch is an expanded Neighborhood Watch Program (NWP) Program that incorporates terrorism awareness education into its existing crime prevention mission, while also serving as a way to bring residents together to focus on emergency preparedness and emergency response training.
- Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) works to enhance the capacity of state and local law enforcement to utilize volunteers. VIPS serves as a gateway to resources and information for and about law enforcement volunteer programs.
Citizen Corps is coordinated nationally by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In this capacity, DHS works closely with other federal entities, state and local governments, first responders and emergency managers, the volunteer community, and the White House Office of the USA Freedom Corps.
For more information about the Citizen Corps, visit www.citizencorps.gov.
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