Disaster donations tracked online
-- DAS Donations Emergency Response Team, February 2003

Tracking donations and other resources required during disasters has just become easier for emergency personnel trying to locate supplies and services.

A Web application, which was recently created by the GSD Management Information Systems team, automates the recording and tracking of offers received through donation hotlines activated during state- and federal-declared emergencies. Members of the public and private industry call the hotline to volunteer services or donate materials.

The application provides state agencies and other entities with a single data source to quickly record, locate and distribute emergency supplies during a declared emergency.

The database was requested by the donations emergency response teams of DAS and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. The teams initially tested the database after tornadoes swept through northwest Ohio last November.

The DAS Donations Emergency Response Team consists of members of the GSD offices of State Purchasing and Fleet Management as well as the divisions of Computer Services and Human Resources and the Office of Employee Services. The team's role in the event of a declared emergency includes staffing the donations hotline and assisting the Ohio EMA in the management and distribution of donations to the affected areas.