Made up of military veterans, civilian first responders, and medical professionals, Team Rubicon is a volunteer-based nonprofit that provides disaster aide throughout the world. Or in other words, they’re real-life superheros.

Spanning 11 regions, the team has made its mark in Haiti, Chile, Burma, South Sudan, Pakistan and several states in the U.S. The team works on two different missions: reactive and proactive in both international and domestic capacities.

Domestic projects are mostly reactive missions, where activated volunteers in specific regions work toward unexpected emergency relief. Take its most recent fight with Hurricane Sandy as an example of how the team takes on debris removal, home repair, and search-and-rescue missions.

Team Rubicon’s goals don’t stop in the states with its proactive missions – they expand out to international threats and crises too. With a far more medical-oriented focus, international missions work toward emergency care and educating locals with necessary medical practices to sustain health and survival.

Volunteers continue to bridge the gap and stay active online where deployment information is updated and where interested volunteers learn how they can join in the efforts. Joining Team Rubicon might not be for everyone, so encouraging supporters to donate can do just as much to keep the mission alive. Each region has a dedicated website where people can find more information on how to volunteer or join it’s recurring donation support squad.

We understand the concept of not being able to monetarily support a program, so if it’s not a possibility, Team Rubicon also hosts community service projects and takes on volunteers with specialized skills in event organizing, administrative tasks, media, and many other areas that opens the door to whoever wants to get involved.

So next time you’re looking for a superhero, you don’t have to look far. Especially when its as easy as logging onto Facebook.

– Juan Frausto

(Photo credit: Team Rubicon)