Voluntary Action Camden

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How can you help

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Different emergencies create a need for different emergency items. Communities often collectively come together and want to help, and it may become challenging to manage the volume of goods donated. Below you’ll find some suggestions to help you plan and coordinate the collection and distribution of donated emergency items:

  • Be clear in your communications about which items you can and cannot accept. It is also important to consider the need for culturally appropriate items.

  • Accept items that are hygienic and in a suitable condition (especially if these are medical, perishable, or sanitary products).

  • Allocate specific drop off locations and time slots, so that you have control over donation volume and coordinate enough volunteers to support.

  • Keep items stored and organised into categories, labelling boxes where possible, so that you can keep track of what stocks are running low and request more if needed. Keeping records in a spreadsheet can also help you to do this.

  • Keep in touch with other organisations accepting donations – an item you are unable to receive might be accepted elsewhere.

  • Communicate with the Emergency Management team and Community Partnership team at Camden council to contribute to a borough-wide response.

  • Maintaining a clothes or foodbank operation like this can be expensive. Think about ways you can fundraise to support your initiative. Click here for tips on setting up a donation site.

Click here to find out about more ways to donate, volunteer and help others in Camden.

Group success with solid fill

When managing your volunteers, find an approach that works for you. Some examples include:

  • Develop a volunteer handbook or guidance document, outlining the volunteer’s roles and responsibilities, your organisation’s policies, and how volunteers can access supervision or support if needed.

  • Set up a volunteer’s WhatsApp group to keep volunteers notified of key updates.

  • Use a collaborative spreadsheet to create a volunteering schedule where you can coordinate volunteers shifts and tasks. You can do this using Google Sheets, for example.

  • Host volunteers briefing sessions on a regular basis, holding meetings online or in person to communicate key messages and listen to feedback from your volunteers working on the ground.

  • Identify who in your team may be able to support as a team leader, and work with them in advance to ensure they have the training and skills to perform the task.

  • In an emergency, some tasks may require specialist knowledge and training. Always prioritise the safety of your volunteers.

Define a number of volunteers that you are able to manage, and direct other volunteering offers to the Volunteer Centre Camden.

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Assess and report needs

Your knowledge of the community can be invaluable in an emergency. Your organisation can help to identify unmet needs and communicate them to emergency services or the Council’s Emergency Management team. Contact the Emergency Management team via 020 7974 4444 (daytime), 020 7974 4444 (Out of office hours) or email emergencyplanning@camden.gov.uk

You may also consider offering your resources to support the wider response, such as offering your building as a safe space or to spread a message to your community.

If you want to help your community by sharing accurate and timely information during an emergency, these are some of the things you can start thinking about to be able to do this effectively:

  • Do you know where to find official information?

  • What are the best ways to reach residents in your community?

  • Which languages would you need to provide information in?

  • How will you communicate if there is no power or if phone lines are down?

  • Which networks should you become a member to contribute to a coordinated approach and share consistent messages?

  • Do you have staff or volunteers with the skills to run an information hub?

  • During emergencies, you may receive information from different government departments, emergency services, and community partners. You can help residents to better navigate the wealth of resources available by organising information and directing them to the most up-to-date and relevant source.

    Important to note that misinformation can be easily spread. This can happen for many reasons, including information becoming quickly outdated, or unconfirmed messages passing by word-of mouth. If you want to help by spreading helpful messages to your community, always share up-to-date information from official sources, such as the channels suggested in the ‘Where to find news’ section of this toolkit.

  • Joining local networks can be useful for mutual help and sharing information. VAC has a list of networks and forums that you can join. Click here to learn more.

    Camden Advice Network

    The Camden Advice Network are 12 organisations that provide free and independent advice to Camden residents. Click here to learn more.

  • You can start now to raise awareness of risks and help communities to plan and prepare ahead of emergencies. These are some useful resources that you can share with the residents you support, particularly when they live in areas at risk.

    Click here for Camden Council’s guidance for emergencies such as flooding, power cuts, hot weather, how to plan for an emergency and what to do in an emergency.

    Click here for the Mayor of London’s guidance on flash flooding including a flash flooding awareness leaflet.

    Click here for resources collated by the VCS Emergencies partnership on winter preparedness.

    Click here to know more the Priority Services Register and the support they can offer in the event of a power cut.

    Click here for resources by the British Red Cross on how to prepare an emergency kit.
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