When disaster strikes people are in crisis, and often left without homes, loose loved ones, and entire communities can be destroyed or displaced.

Our Disaster Aid Response Teams (DART) provides an effective channel of distribution for goods, supplies, and building materials to individuals in their time of need. As a first response team, we will setup a Point of Distribution (POD) within the central disaster area to distribute donated goods and supplies to individuals and families. We welcome survivors with open arms and offer comfort and Christian love to those in need.

In addition, DART provides hands-on assistance rebuilding structures within communities. Our volunteers enter streets and neighborhoods affected by disaster to remove debris, tarp roofs, and repair homes. It is our goal to provide manpower and materials necessary to make rebuilding easier.

God has blessed us with strength , knowledge, and compassion to help others, and we will pour blessings onto those who need our help after a disaster.

How It All Started
When hurricane Katrina hit the northern Gulf Coast in August, 2005, our Disaster Aid Response Team was formed. With local donations, prayers and a team of determined individuals we set off on our first mission trip to help the survivors affected in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. This small town is where the eye of the storm made land fall and nearly everything had been destroyed. We set up camp and immediately built a Point of Distribution (POD) for the local community. Over the next several days our team entered into the streets and neighborhoods to communicate our efforts and offer help to those in need.

During our time there, we witnessed the inability of other organizations to provide aid to the people that needed it most. Many well-meaning efforts were wasted because of chaos and bureaucracy. We saw the need for an organized response team with the ability to provide aid and supplies at a moments notice and to do the most good for the most people. This vision was the beginning of DART.

See slideshow of our trip to Mississippi

See slideshow of our trip to South Florida

See slideshow of our trip to Lady Lake, Florida

Training
DART is certified as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) by Orange County Emergency Management. Our volunteers have been trained in: disaster preparedness, fire suppression, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology, and responding to terrorism. This training prepares DART members to save lives and protect property in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. A time when emergency services personnel may be overwhelmed.

D.A.R.T. members are certified by FEMA as National Incident Management System (NIMS IS-700) compliant.

Planning
This is just the beginning of our training. Plans are underway for DART members to participate in further training that will add to our capabilities and effectiveness in disaster situations. It is our goal to be the most prepared and best trained volunteer disaster response team in the country. We are developing a team that will revisit disaster areas in the months following the relief efforts to aid in rebuilding and reorganizing lives, homes, and communities.