Illinois Disaster Corps

​The Serve Illinois Commission, the state’s commission on volunteerism and community service, is charged under the Illinois Emergency Operations Plan (IEOP), Volunteers and Donations annex to deploy the Illinois Disaster Corps team, when requested, through the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). There has been a continuing need during times of disaster to have a team of people help manage volunteers and donations. A team of people have been developed to do this task, modeled from the AmeriCorps St. Louis program.

The American Red Cross serves as the leadership component of Illinois Disaster Corps, as they have full-time members dedicated to disaster preparedness and response. The remainder of the team is comprised of Serve Illinois’ AmeriCorps State programs who are direct grantees of the Commission, located around the state serving in various non-disaster capacities on a regular basis. Illinois AmeriCorps State programs are required to commit at least one member to the Illinois Disaster Corps program.