Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (ORVOAD) was formed in the spring of 1985. A small group of faith based organizations, along with The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross pulled together individual organizations sent a letter to churches in the Portland area to announce the formation of a new disaster preparedness organization in Oregon. This was the founding momentum that quickly became ORVOAD. During their first meeting, these organizations discussed the skills and assets their individual organizations brought to a disaster in an effort to assure the right resources were placed at the right location at the right time.
In over 35 years of uninterrupted service to individuals and families impacted by disaster, ORVOAD has pulled together faith-based and non-governmental organizations active in disaster to help rebuild and restore Oregon communities. From these early days we have clearly and consistently reached out to all communities in our state and worked closely with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and FEMA Region X to assure the resources and skills of member organizations are available to all.
Today over 100 faith-based and non-governmental organizations make up our partner and membership groups of Oregon VOAD. Our mission is to strengthen the capabilities of organizations working together in our State/Territory to respond to communities affected by disaster. ORVOAD continues to grow and develop with the addition of each new member and disaster response organization whose only goal is to help our communities and lessen the burden of those impacted by disaster.
Principles
ORVOAD is an affiliate of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD). ORVOAD member organizations cover a broad range of missions and technical expertise, and adhere to the 4 Cs: Cooperation, Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration.