Chesapeake Hosts Maryland VOAD

Story by Evan Knott

Chesapeake Conference recently hosted a Maryland Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) quarterly meeting at the conference headquarters in Columbia, Md. Representatives from faith communities, county agencies and businesses joined in person and online to coordinate disaster preparedness and recovery efforts across the state.

The gathering gave member organizations an opportunity to discuss ongoing long-term recovery projects in Maryland and to strengthen the part-nerships that enable a coordinated response when disaster strikes.

Chesapeake Conference used the occasion to highlight construction currently underway at its headquarters: a new Adventist Community Services (ACS) warehouse designed to support rapid disaster response for local communities. Shawn Paris, conference ACS director, presented an overview of the facility, which will also serve as a training site for warehouse and donation management.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church was one of the seven founding members of the national VOAD organization, and ACS is widely recognized for its expertise in donation and warehouse management. This is the second time Chesapeake Conference has hosted a Maryland VOAD quarterly meeting.