Every second saved can save a life

When a lost or injured person is threatened with bad weather or life-threatening injuries, time is of the essence. A well-trained and well-equipped rescue team buys us that time. Every second saved can save a life.

Originally established as part of the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, in 2016 CCVSAR became a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We responded to approximately 40 incidents a year where someone in the backcountry was hurt, lost, or missing, and they needed potentially life-saving help. Our 60 members volunteered 5,500 hours in 2017, saving taxpayers over $140,000.

Our organization is entirely funded by grants and donations from the public. Without financial support from the community we cannot fulfill our mission. These donations go directly toward providing training for our members and dogs, rescue equipment, and funding our public education outreach program.

Please support CCVSAR with your donation today.

How your donations are used

Your donation to CCVSAR makes the following possible:

Ground SAR Equipment & Training

Each CCVSAR volunteer needs training & equipment to safely and effectively respond to incidents.

Hosting and attending local and regional training program builds skills and relationships with partner organizations, which ensures a well-coordinated response to emergency incidents. Sometimes our volunteers also have to travel to other parts of the country for training and certification, and your donations help cover those travel and training costs.

When we are responding to a call for help, the right equipment is critical for supporting our volunteers and for helping to protect victims during transport.

Communications & Navigation

During any rescue or emergency situation, communication is essential. Seconds count, and we are often coordinating volunteer rescuers through difficult weather conditions and across miles of rugged backcountry terrain.

As part of our efforts to update our communication and navigation equipment, we need additional:

• Radios
• Satellite communicators
• GPS devices

Outreach

Public education and awareness can decrease the risk of backcountry injury or death. Here are some of the ways we work to help the public safely enjoy the outdoors:

• Presentations at schools for children
• Safety booths at the sportsman shows, snow shows, and other trade shows
• Community events such as National Night Out, Touch A Truck, Apple Blossom Parade, and Trick Or Treat On The Ave
• Interviews with local media

Your donation can help us buy and/or create educational materials to hand out at community events, such as safety stickers, whistles (to help rescuers locate a victim), and cards listing the “10 essentials” of backcountry gear.

Mobile Command Post Vehicle Restoration & Customization

We were recently able to procure a used vehicle that will become our new Mobile Command Post vehicle. However, much work still needs to be done to fix up and customize this vehicle. When finished, this dedicated Mobile Command Post vehicle will bring all of an incident’s communication needs into one place, streamlining communication and minimizing errors. It can also help us link together all responding organizations when multiple agencies are on site, as well as enable GPS tracking and satellite communication.

We are trying to raise funds to purchase and equip a used communication vehicle, at an estimated cost of approximately $20,000.

Donate today