The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008 - (Page 11)

SHOOTING Continued from page 1 (YWAM) Center. Boyd was in his office, as he usually is Sunday mornings, when his head of security alerted him of the shooting at the center outside Denver, 80 miles north and some eight hours earlier. It was then that he decided to call in extra security. The gunman killed two and injured two others at the church just after 1 p.m. that day. Jeanne Assam, the armed security volunteer who took him down before he fatally shot himself, was purposely in the church’s rotunda because of the earlier YWAM shooting. “We had a detailed evacuation plan in place given all kinds of scenarios, and had a large group of people that knew what to do.We had places on our campus that were designated as holding areas,” Boyd said during a press conference the day after the Dec. 9 shootings. Boyd estimated the church’s security team is 15 to 20 people, and the only ones who are armed are those who are licensed to carry weapons, which is about half. “We follow the law very carefully and we follow strict New Life Church in Colorado Springs has a sprawling 35-acre campus with three buildings. The 250,000square-foot Worship Center can hold up to 10,000 people, in addition to the World Prayer Center, which is 55,000 square feet on two different levels, and the “tent” facility that is 25,000 square feet. a partnership between the volunteers and law enforcement.” Curtis Sliwa, founder and CEO of the Alliance of Guardian Angels, said the volunteers who join his group first must go through an orientation and background check.A nonprofit organization of unarmed crime watchers,the New York City-based Guardian Angels have nearly 5,000 members in 11 countries and 102 cities. If they qualify, potential Angels then are required to complete 128 hours of training to graduate the program. Training involved four areas: basic selfdefense and conditioning; CPR/first aid; law, and Angels patrol and radio communications techniques. The most important aspect of training, Sliwa said, is learning the law, and knowing what you can and cannot do, so as to not violate people’s rights Shooting, page 12 Curtis Sliwa, founder and CEO of the Alliance of Guardian Angels guidelines, because there is obviously a lot of legality involved,” said Boyd, who declined requests for one-on-one interviews. “Clearly volunteers are used in security-type situations a lot,” said Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize Inc., a Philadelphia-based consulting firm specializing in volunteering and a contributing editor to The NonProfit Times on volunteer issues. “Any time you have a mass demonstration -- any civil disobedience -- security is an entire area of special event planning.” In most cases, Ellis said, it’s not meant to be armed security necessarily, but people clearly designated and done in some way with the local police department.“They’re given some kind of training as to what areas to look at, they’re told not to get into trouble themselves.” Ellis said there are situations in which volunteers are recruited, with a requirement ranging from a gun license to law enforcement or military experience. “They’re not common,” she said. “It’s whoever’s the head of that team of security volunteers is almost always involved with the police…has somebody they can call. It’s JANUARY 1, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com 11 http://www.bnymellon.com http://www.bnymellon.com http://www.nptimes.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008

The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008 Expenses Continue To Put Stress On Nonprofit Budgets Insuring Donors’ Goodwill Volunteers On Firing Line Contents Who...When...Where...How...What? Red Cross Audit Comes Up Clean Exit Doors Rear And Aft Calendar A Fresh Look Special Report: Accounting APIs Opportunity Is Knocking Middle Management Barrier Memorial NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008

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