A Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteer (SUV) or Event-Based Volunteer refers to an individual who volunteers to assist community members or community organizations, typically after a large-scale or well-publicized

disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...

. Because unaffiliated volunteers lack consistent

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

, and each volunteer's

trustworthiness Trust is the belief that another person will do what is expected. It brings with it a willingness for one party (the trustor) to become vulnerable to another party (the trustee), on the presumption that the trustee will act in ways that benefit ...

is unknown, SUV management can be very difficult, and the subject of a large amount of research and practice. In many community organizing circles, the term "Community Volunteer" is preferred, emphasizing the community-centric nature of unaffiliated

volunteerism Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

References

Disaster management Emergency management Volunteering {{disaster-stub