DISASTER RESPONSE
Freedom District Lions Club (FDLC) is able to respond to a disaster on several levels.
First, its eighty plus members can respond on an individual or club level. Some of our members have Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Certifications, others have nursing backgrounds. We can man shelters, direct traffic, muck out basements, and help remove debris.
Second, we have a medical building at the Sykesville Fire Department Carnival Grounds. This building has wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and other medical equipment that gets loaned out to the community as needed free of charge.
At National Night Out and other community events, we have a table where we hand out pamphlets, brochures, and children’s activity books from FEMA that help the individual prepare to respond to various emergencies and disasters.
Our next level of response is our close association with Carroll COAD (Community Organization Active in Disaster) and MD VOAD (Maryland Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster). These organizations bring together like-minded groups such as Red Cross, Seventh Day Adventists, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Carroll Counties Office of Emergency Management, and Maryland’s Emergency Management Agency.
Our final level of response is what Lions can do as a group. We can respond as a Club, a Zone (six clubs in Southern Carroll County) a Region (all twelve clubs in Carroll County), a District (fifty-five clubs in Western Maryland) a Multiple District (all clubs in Maryland and Delaware), or Lions Club International (LCI). LCI has a Foundation in place (LCIF) that provides grants to the affected area following a disaster. An example of this is the two $10,000 grants given to Ellicott City Lions after the severe flooding in 2016 and 2018.