Chain of Help 2025 Preparedness Exercise 14-15.11.2025

The Red Cross organizes a national preparedness exercise every three years. This year, 2025, it is again time for a joint exercise. The theme of the Chain of Help 2025 (Avun Ketju 2025) exercise is the distribution of relief supplies and cash assistance, as well as catering.

The scenario for the Chain of Help 2025 exercise involves population movement within Finland's borders, with normal legislation in force (self-evacuation).

More information about the national Chain of Help 2025 preparedness exercise (in Finnish/Swedish)

Join the Chain of Help 2025 exercise!

In the Helsinki and Uusimaa district (HUP) area, you can participate in the Chain of Help 2025 preparedness exercise in many different ways as a volunteer:

• Training webinars
• Regional exercise
• Branch exercise or training
• Extra: Chain of Help socks

Training webinars

Since January, it has been possible to participate in Chain of Help 2025 webinars, which introduce the Red Cross's preparedness activities from different perspectives. You can find the registration link, webinar schedule, and recordings of past webinars on the Chain of Help 2025 page (in Finnish/Swedish). You can go through the webinars independently or together with, for example, your activity group.

Regional exercise

Branches are encouraged to participate in the regional exercise together with other branches. In real exceptional and crisis situations, the cooperation of helpers is usually needed across branch boundaries, often also across regional boundaries.

If you have not yet been in contact with any branch, you can find the contact details of the branches here.

In HUP, the regional exercises are prepared by a coordination group for the preparedness exercise appointed by the district board and facilitated by members of the district board. The group also includes preparedness and readiness expert Niki Haake from the district office and responsible volunteers from each welfare area and Helsinki.

The volunteers in the coordination group act as contact and responsible persons for the implementation of the exercise in their area. The implementation involves the area's branches, activity groups, and volunteers.

The coordination group plans exercises that apply the scenario of the national preparedness exercise to the HUP area according to the needs and interests of different areas. More information about the exercise and related training will be communicated as planning progresses.

Volunteers can participate in the planning and practical arrangements of the regional exercise. You can get more information from your area's contact person or from the email addresses mentioned below:'

• Helsinki: valmiusharjoitus2025@hehy.fi
• Eastern Uusimaa: Anders Bäckström, Tom Granqvist
• Western Uusimaa: Diana Nordström, Heini Björk
• Vantaa-Kerava: Saara Sahlstedt, Markus Nieminen, Sirpa Isomäki, Veikko Valkonen
• District Board: Niki Haake niki.haake@redcross.fi 

Branch exercise or training

The branch can organize its own preparedness exercise or training that introduces, for example, the theme of the national preparedness exercise or the regional exercise. The branch can, for example, organize a joint webinar evening where selected Chain of Help 2025 training webinars are watched and related stations are completed.

Extra: Chain of Help socks

The Herttoniemi branch accepts Chain of Help socks and sock yarns. Those interested in knitting can participate by knitting socks according to the Chain of Help sock model. The branch also accepts sock yarns. You can get the knitting instructions from the branch.

 

More information: