Serve On is a humanitarian response charity whose highly-skilled volunteers are on stand-by at all times to respond swiftly when natural disasters strike, at home and abroad.

Our work constantly transforms lives, including the lives of our volunteers, as we build resilience in people and in communities.

Our USAR-trained International Response Team (IRT) members have a proud history - stretching back more than 30 years - of providing emergency help in times of global catastrophes, most recently following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in February 2023.

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Training - to INSARAG standards - takes between 18 months and two years for those who pass an initial selection weekend and volunteers must then pass a gruelling five-day final assessment exercise to show they are ready to be operational.

Our UK Ops team, based at our HQ in Chilmark, provides a national flood response asset and local support for the emergency services in times of severe weather events, or other crises such as missing person searches.

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During the Covid pandemic they adapted swiftly in order to help deliver millions of items of PPE to frontline services, carried out welfare checks on thousands of potentially vulnerable residents and provided invaluable assistance to the vaccine rollout.

Following the earthquake in Morocco in September 2023, they helped to remotely coordinate aid operations on the ground for multiple teams by pioneering the Safe Citizens app.

In between crises they offer their manpower and logistical abilities to collaborate with the emergency services, other local charities and community events or combine their rescue training with community tasks, such as river clearance, to help improve their local environment.

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Our Dog Team, skilled in trailing, open area searches and victim recovery, is on hand at all hours to help the emergency services, from Gloucestershire to Wales and the South Coast.

Our volunteers come from all over the country, and from all walks of life – from military veterans, emergency services personnel, business leaders, teachers, nurses and tradespeople – and being part of the friendly and inclusive charity gives them a valuable new purpose, whether it is within our rescue teams or in equally valuable support roles.

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Just being part of the Serve On family is transformative for our volunteers – some of them recovering from physical or mental injury or from difficult life transitions - as they improve their own skills and resilience and provide leadership for others, boosting preparedness in their local communities.

With so many inspiring role models offering their time, expertise and can-do attitude for free, we are also in a strong position to mentor young people, including disengaged and marginalised youngsters, and to help them fulfil their huge, but sometimes wasted, potential.

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Our Rescue Rookies scheme gives 14-18-year-olds the chance to discover who they are, what they are capable of and an important sense of belonging in a safe and supportive, yet adventurous and exciting environment, boosting their life experiences, their confidence and their CVs.