For many individuals Labor Day weekend is spent relaxing, but for some key statewide leaders, it will be a time to learn, prepare and become disaster response workers.

On Saturday ,September 5th, the American Red Cross will partner with the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum to train leaders from the NAACP, Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) and the Latino Community Development Agency (LCDA) during a Community Disaster Response Training course targeting diversity leaders.

WHAT: Community Disaster Response Training
WHERE: Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum, 620 North Harvey Ave.
WHEN: Saturday, September 5, 8:45 a.m.-5 p.m.

"We are very excited to conduct this training at the Memorial and Museum due to the significance of this partnership for our community, our state, and even the rest of our country," said Vince Hernandez, CEO of the American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma. "These volunteer partnerships mean we will continue to have a diverse base of volunteers, trained to work side-by-side with their neighbors when needed the most."

This training was set in motion when the NAACP signed an agreement this past June, stating they would provide volunteers across the state to be trained as disaster responders. CAIR and LCDA also have stepped forward as organizations supporting the mission of providing prepared disaster workers.

"This is during the month of Ramadan, a month devoted to giving, and we look forward to giving back to our neighbors in this way. We need to come together, collaborate and learn so when disaster is imminent, we can respond," said Razi Hashmi, CAIR-OK executive director.  

Leadership from these organizations will take what is learned from the day's courses, and work with their local Red Cross chapters and to prepare even more Oklahomans in their membership base.

"Our organization has members in all 77 counties and we want to empower them to have the skills needed to respond. Our leaders from across Oklahoma will be brought together, not by race, but by the effects that disaster can have on our communities," said Anthony R. Douglas, president of the Oklahoma NAACP. 

The training is made possible by a grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation, an organization dedicated to preparing communities and providing disaster relief across the country.

More information about the organizations can be found at http://www.oknaacp.org/, http://www.latinoagencyokc.org/, http://www.cair.org/

About the American Red Cross:
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent Call (405) 228-9500 for donation information or visit http://www.okc.redcross.org/ to donate to the Disaster Relief Fund.

The American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma is a proud United Way partner agency.