Raising awareness toward Team Rubicon Canada

Earlier this month Minister of Veterans Affairs, Kent Hehr, hosted a parliamentary reception for the Canadian pendant of Team Rubicon Global. The reception aimed to shed light on a movement that started a year ago, which has already deployed some 40 members, all volunteers, to countries in need following disasters.

Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams to natural disasters. 

Over 200 guests attended the evening in Ottawa, including the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Team Rubicon Global’s President, Ken Harbaugh, and volunteer from Team Canada, Ryan Bush. Team Rubicon was notably recognized for its work in Fort McMurray where a team of 80 volunteers from the U.S.A., Canada and eventually the United Kingdom and Australia trained 300 locals to assist over 900 homeowners to sift through their properties to recover their valuables.

“We are humbled and grateful that the Minister of Veterans Affairs organized this event to raise attention to our movement and help gather more volunteers and members to our non-profit organization. The idea is to engage even more communities and veterans and keep growing,” said Co-Country Liaison David Fascinato.

Team Rubicon Canada went from a handful of volunteers to over 200 in the course of only one year of operation. The organization should officially launch its efforts this spring when its status as a charity is official. In the meantime, volunteers keep signing up to help in the global efforts.

“It is a great opportunity for our veterans to pursue their service to the community beyond the military, using skills they have acquired throughout their career. It has been proven to help veterans to transition from their military service. It gives them a purpose and a sense of identity. It is one of our main objectives to broaden veterans’ engagement and to empower them through active service,” added Fascinato.

If you are interested in learning more about Team Rubicon Canada or to join the movement, please visit their website or Facebook page.