If you're already taken the tour, or have already looked around the database and are ready to enter data, skip to the bottom of these notes...
THE TOUR!!
Open up a separate window (or print out these instructions) and follow step by step, waiting for the screen to refresh in between each step...
Facility/Needs List Tour
- go to https://reliefdb.org [later you can come back and see what we're about]
- choose "facilities/organizations" on the upper left
- scroll down to SEE ALL THE ORGS that are tracked
- notice that there are many pages, over 4,500 organizations listed
- choose any facility, I suggest Abbeville United Methodist Church, on the second page, the list alphabetizes by capital letters first.) But any organization will do just fine. The idea is to show you the information "stored" in a "Database Record". Generally speaking, there is a database record for each organization listed in this database.
- click on "Abbeville United Methodist Church" (Click on the 'NAME' column - the title of the organization)
- SCROLL DOWN and see their facility "Record"
- notice all the useful info about the facility... the "Mission" area towards the bottom usually has info about the organization's function and purpose
- scroll past the "notes" area to the "NEEDS LIST", which lists the stuff that the site needs
- scroll past the "Needs List" and see the "AVAILABILITIES LIST", which is the stuff or services that the site lists as stuff that they can share
- scroll back up to the top of the needs list and notice the green links.
- choose "SHOW NEEDS MATCHES". this is the "needs matching" functionality of the dbase, one of it's most important features. by selecting this button, you are asking the database to match up the needs of this facility with the availabilities of the other facilities. this helps disaster relief organizations and donors share.
- scroll down and see the facilities that have listed an "availability" for the
stuff that the site needs.
- if you need an item that is listed as "available", a disaster relief group can get the contact info for the site listing the availability by clicking on the "NAME" of the facility and scrolling down to see the contact info. The group can call the site and check and see if the stuff is still available and ask what the process is to get some of the stuff.
- The date of the items "update" is not necessarily reflective of the actual inventory situation. A group may always have or need diapers, but may have entered the availability or need data months ago. Always check with the organization to see if the items are still available or needed.
Items Tour
- if you're not already in the database, go to https://reliefdb.org
- Go to the top
- if you have broadband connection to the internet, choose "CATEGORIES/ITEMS" (blue/gray link in the top gray box).
- scroll down. the first category you'll see is "Key Items". That's category lists stuff that people usually need no matter what disaster.
- the next category is "First Response Items". these are the items that people
can gather anytime because there's always a need for them somewhere. They are not perishable, and on-going social service orgs like homeless shelters can use them anytime. And it's a good idea to "stockpile" these items. If a
disaster hits, people can start gathering this stuff right away.
- The lines that start "Category" are the categories of items listed in this database. The first is All Things Green, Animal, then Baby, then Books, etc.
- To "expand" a category and look at the items listed, click on the name the category.
- To see which organizations need or have an item, click on the "magnifying glass" to the right of the name of the category or item.
- Scroll down to the table (past the green links, if there are any) listing the facilities.
- you can sort the list so that you can see the most recent entries by clicking on the word "UPDATE"
- you can sort the list by state, by choosing the "pull down" menu to the left and choosing a state
- you can sort the list by town, by clicking on the word "town" (don't click on the "x", or the column will disappear)
- you can clear all sorting and see the list alphabetically by clicking on "Clear All Sort/Filter Settings" (in red)
- you can add back missing columns, too!
- you can sort the list so that you can see only "AVAILABILITIES", or only "NEEDS" by using the "advanced search" or "search again" button.-
- you can also show only high urgency needs. But be careful, because urgency levels change very quickly.
Example of how we use this tool:
- we are collecting and sending computers at one of our locations in the North East.
- choose the button "categories/items" from the top of this page.
- scroll down to "computers/electronics", click on it to expand and show the items in that category
- a few lines down, you'll see "desktop computers". click on the magnifying glass (on the right) and you'll see all the sites listing a "need" for computers or an "availability". you can see the Citizen Action Team Gathering operation listed as having an "availability" for computers. That's "us"! We post that we have these computers "available" so that someone that needs them can find them.
That's it. Voila! You've had the tour!
*** DATABASE DISCLAIMER ***
PLEASE READ BEFORE USING THIS DATABASE: https://reliefdb.org/shelters/1072
*** BEGINNER'S INSTRUCTIONS! ***
To ENTER your own facility and it's need list and to
do a "match", go to:
http://dbase.reliefdatabase.org/shelters/show/1573
To SEARCH for an organization in the database, go to:
http://dbase.reliefdatabase.org/shelters/show/3020
For other instructions/training and tips, go to:
http://dbase.reliefdatabase.org/shelters/show/1576