Livingston CERT Benefits From Rotary's $11K Donation

The Livingston Community Response Team is among six Essex County teams to benefit from an $11,000 grant for equipment and supplies, officials announced this week.

Rotary Club International made the donation that will benefit 150 CERT members.

"Rotary Club International has a long history of helping the community and we are pleased to have established a partnership with them here in Essex," Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said. "Through the support of local Rotary Clubs, we have been able to make some significant improvements throughout the County. This donation will go a long way in providing the resources we need to continue keeping our residents safe during emergency situations."

The grant provided CERT uniforms (caps and shirts), field desks, traffic control wands, electronic road flares, identification lanyards and all-weather notebooks for 150 CERT team members. The supplies will be distributed to the CERT teams in Belleville, East Orange, Irvington, South Orange, West Essex and West Orange.

"Our municipal and regional CERT teams throughout Essex County are vital to our emergency management operations. CERT members provide our communities with skilled assistance during emergency conditions and they have distinguished themselves throughout severe weather events, including during hurricanes, Nor'easters, black-outs, floods and mud slides," Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said. "Essex OEM also commends Rotary International and all the local Rotary Clubs for their civic leadership in making these essential supplies available to our CERT teams."

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. 

Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community. The Essex County Office of Emergency Management trains the County CERT teams in the those skills.