Get Involved - New Year, New Opportunities

It's a New Year. Have you gotten involved?

We've shared this particular tidbit before, but, like this week's look back at earthquake safety on SoCal Connected, a good "get involved" never goes goes stale. 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." You can find out about CERT training in the Los Angeles area by visiting the CERT-LA website. Those of you farther afield can check with www.californiavolunteers.org for information on disaster preparedness training.

Volunteer site L.A. Works offers a monthly calendar of volunteering opportunities. This week, this item leapt out at us.

Put on your boogie shoes for an evening of dancing with the delightful BCR clients... BCR offers day programs for disabled adults and children. Its mission is to enable its participants to develop their abilities so they may become independent and contributing members of the community. [Get involved here.]

For those of you whose tastes are more electronic than electronica, this week is the first Dorkbot SoCal event of 2009. Dorkbot - billed as "people doing strange things with electricity, mostly in Los Angeles" - brings together technology enthusiasts with artists Deborah Aschheim, Brian Evans and David Guttman for an afternoon of tech and community. As before, Dorkbot is being hosted by our friends at Machine Project.