[teaser]If you are interested in becoming a CERT instructor, please contact a member of the Lamorinda CERT Steering Committee.[/teaser]
A Train The Trainer course will be held this spring in the Bay Area.

The purpose of this Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train-the-Trainer (T-T-T) course is to produce competent instructors for the CERT Basic Training course.

The CERT Train The Trainer (T3 or T-T-T) classes have traditionally been taught by local trainers. This is changing now and CaliforniaVolunteers  is now sponsoring Train The Trainer and Program Manager courses throughout California. The training is free and will follow Federal and State guidance for delivering these courses.

The prerequisites for attending the CERT T-T-T course include:

  • Must have taken the CERT Basic training course.
  • Must have a referral from a CERT sponsoring agency. In the Lamorinda area this is the Lamorinda CERT Steering Committee.

California Volunteers History

On September 21, 1993 President Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (PL 103-82). This law merged two federal agencies, ACTION and the Commission on National and Community Service, creating the new Corporation for National Service. The Act also established AmeriCorps, a service program for Americans ages seventeen years and older.

The Act required the governor of each state to create and appoint a commission to administer the AmeriCorps program. In 1994, Governor Pete Wilson created the California State Commission originally known as the Commission on Improving Life Through Service through Executive Order W-77-94. Since the commission’s inception, the first lady of California has served as the honorary chair of the commission.

The organization was renamed by Governor Gray Davis as the Governor’s Office On Service and Volunteerism (GO SERV) in 2001. In August 2004, the organization was renamed the California Service Corps.

In December 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-24-06, renaming the organization CaliforniaVolunteers. In this Executive Order, Governor Schwarzenegger charged CaliforniaVolunteers with ensuring the coordination of volunteer activities related to disaster response and recovery, including necessary training, equipment, and transportation provisions.

On February 26, 2008 Governor Schwarzenegger took first-in-the-nation action to encourage volunteerism in California and to improve coordination of volunteer efforts between the state’s departments and agencies by signing Executive Order S-02-08 to establish a new position of Secretary of Service and Volunteering. The Secretary leads the efforts of CaliforniaVolunteers and serves as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. This order also charged CaliforniaVolunteers with managing donations in times of disaster.