Home > Studio Protector > Resources > Recover After a Disaster > Working with Volunteers for Disaster Clean Up
You may be able to register with your local volunteer center or government agency for assistance from voluntary organizations active in disaster through VOADs. You can also seek out help from your social media networks, community bulletin boards, and Craigslist.
In some cases, volunteers will be from established voluntary organizations and trained. Often, they will be family members, friends, or people who show up with lots of energy and good intentions.
Start planning and make a list of:
You and your studio mates or employees will probably have to become supervisors. In some cases, you may have volunteers who are able to assume a supervisory role. Identify those people and any special skills they may have.
Volunteers who are working on your property may be exposed to certain hazards. If you have business liability coverage, check with your insurance carrier to be sure you are covered if someone is injured. Volunteers working with a volunteer agency usually sign a liability waiver, but ask the agency about liability if something goes wrong. If you are working with volunteers, do not provide anything that could be construed as compensation for their work. Doing so may legally change your relationship to employer/employee with more serious liability consequences.
Liability Waivers: Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts of Nashville, TN has sample release forms you may use with volunteers. Fill in something like “Disaster Relief” as the program, and your name or business name as the organization. These are in TXT format so you can copy into your word processor and add your own modifications before printing.
Short Version Volunteer Liability Waiver
Glass Artist + Beneficiary Ricky Bernstein and volunteers helped to rebuild his studio after a fire.