Governor gives volunteerism a boost to cabinet rank

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a cabinet-level office for volunteer service Tuesday that aims to raise the profile of volunteerism and emergency relief in a state beset by wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Schwarzenegger named Karen Baker, executive director of the governor’s commission for volunteerism, as secretary of service and volunteering, the first such state cabinet position in the country, he said.

Speaking in a crowded hall at Cal State Northridge, he said he hoped the change would inspire other states to establish similar offices around the country. He gave his wife, Maria Shriver, credit for pushing the idea to give the commission, called California Volunteers, greater prominence and responsibility. Shriver is honorary chairwoman of California Volunteers. “We should have volunteers in every California county,” Schwarzenegger said. “We need to harness the great energy that we have out there, all those volunteers who give their time and resources.”

Schwarzenegger said he was inspired by the work of his father-in-law, Sargent Shriver, who was the first director of the Peace Corps, and his mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics. He called the couple “great public servants.”

Schwarzenegger called on the audience to “help me create a California of the heart” and said he saw the power of volunteerism firsthand last fall, when wildfire victims gathered at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium to accept food and shelter from nearly 10,000 volunteers.

Baker said she saw the same sort of public response during a recent oil spill in the Bay Area when 2,000 people stepped forward to help in the cleanup. But most had to be turned away because they weren’t specially trained, she said.

“When the incident occurred, we didn’t know how to utilize them,” she said. “We never had people say they want to do hazardous waste removal. We want to get ahead of this and have volunteers trained, ID’d and credentialed. Get them organized.”

Baker will continue to maintain her staff and budget for California Volunteers but will now play a role in disaster planning and response, coordinating volunteers at disaster sites and establishing training programs for those who register at www.californiavolunteers.org.

The office will also manage donations to the state for disaster relief, a responsibility now held by the state’s Office of Emergency Response.

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