Full article by David Wells, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 31, 2024.
In this feature article, the director of disaster relief for a faith-based nonprofit describes how his organization has refined its volunteer program over the past 57 years of disaster response in the U.S. and abroad. His experience shows that responses are often only effective if volunteers and their teams are properly trained, prepared, motivated, and deployed.
Listen to expert insights and best practices for driving the mission, boosting the response effort, and ensuring a positive outcome for each incident recovery effort.
Listen on
David Wells
David Wells is director of Disaster Relief for Texans on Mission, a U.S. 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that empowers volunteers of the Christian faith to respond to the biggest challenges around the globe through disaster relief and feeding, water sustainability, and capacity-building initiatives. Wells began his response journey as a Baptist pastor in Wyoming, leading his congregation to provide aid to travelers trapped by routine interstate closings due to snow. He later became state director for Disaster Relief for the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention. As a pastor in Missouri, he led shower, chainsaw, laundry, and feeding response teams among Missouri Baptists, eventually becoming associate director of Disaster Relief for the Missouri Baptist Convention. Wells joined Texans on Mission in 2019 and has served as the director of Disaster Relief since 2020.
