ABOUT MRC

The WMMRC is a coalition of Medical Reserve Corps Units and Public Health and Emergency Preparedness Departments serving the western Massachusetts counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden, and their more than 100 cities and towns.

The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to build strong, healthy and prepared communities by establishing teams of volunteers with and without medical and public health backgrounds who can contribute their skills and expertise throughout the year and during times of community need.

The MRC was founded after President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. It is a specialized component of Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. Citizen Corps, along with AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace Corps are part of the President’s USA Freedom Corps, which promotes volunteerism and service nationwide.

MRC units are community-based and function as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources.

MRC units are provided specific areas to target that strengthen the public health infrastructure of their communities The overarching goal is to improve health literacy, and in support of this, he wants us to work towards increasing disease prevention, eliminating health disparities, and improving public health preparedness.

MRC volunteers can choose to support communities in need nationwide.

MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and epidemiologists. Many community members—interpreters, chaplains, office workers, legal advisers, and others—can fill key support positions.