FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 05, 2003
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Federal Emergency Management Agency
(202) 566-1600 |
Tulsa Partners & McDonald's Are Working Together To Make Tulsa "McReady" For Disaster |
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WASHINGTON, June 5, 2003—Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today
unveiled Mrs. Bush’s National Hunger Awareness Day public service announcement
that encourages Americans to volunteer in the fight against hunger and
announced the availability of new tools designed to increase access to the
Food Stamp Program to help raise awareness of the resources available to those
in need.
Veneman made the announcement during a National Hunger Awareness Day event
at the Downtown Services Center in the First Congregational Church. National
Hunger Awareness Day is a public information initiative started in 2002, by
America’s Second Harvest to highlight the continued existence of hunger in
America. The Bush Administration has joined with America’s Second Harvest and
other faith and community-based organizations to show what Americans can do to
combat hunger in their communities.
Mayor Bill LaFortune, President of McDonald's Tulsa Co-op of Restaurant
Owners Dwayne Sampson, and Ronald McDonald himself kicked off "Mayor's Citizen
Corps Month" at a special press conference held June 3 at a local McDonald's
restaurant.
"We're here to kick off a brand new program to help Tulsa be prepared in
case something bad happens," said Ronald McDonald, who got the event going.
"As business owners, parents, and residents of Tulsa County, your local
McDonald's restaurant owners are excited to be able to provide our customers
with the tools they need to 'get a plan, get a kit, and get involved,' to
prepare themselves and their families for disaster emergencies," said Sampson.
"We look forward to a long-term partnership to support these organizations'
mission to educate our citizens--our customers."
Mr. Sampson outlined the four Mayor's Citizen Corps Month initiatives
designed to bring family preparedness information to McDonald's customers and
the community:
- Family Preparedness displays have been set up at 32 McDonald's
restaurants in Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Catoosa, Glenpool, Jenks, Owasso,
and Sand Springs. These displays will remain in the restaurants throughout
the month of June. They include information on floods, tornadoes, SafeRooms,
disaster preparedness, and Citizen Corps. The displays are tailored to the
individual neighborhood for each restaurant location with special
Neighborhood Safety Assessment maps created at INCOG.
- Citizen Corps tray liners featuring the message "Get a plan! Get a kit!
Get involved!" are being used in McDonald's restaurants throughout the
northeast Oklahoma demographic area, which includes 64 restaurants.
- A special family preparedness brochure that also includes the "Get a
plan!…" theme will be placed in the same 64 restaurants.
- McDonald's has also joined Tulsa Partners in sponsoring the Flag Day
Pancake Breakfast, Tulsa Partners' first fundraising project. McDonald's
generosity includes a $600 cash donation, condiments and paper products, and
500 backpacks, plus items such as coloring books and crayons, to give away
to children at the event. Ronald McDonald, Grimace, and Hamburglar will be
at the breakfast; and Ronald will present his "Family Safety Show" to young
audiences. To date, McDonald's has invested $10,800 in supporting Tulsa
Partners, Sampson said.
"This is a groundbreaking event," said Mayor LaFortune. "Our hope is that
this partnership will become a national model. Mayor's Citizen Corps has put
Tulsa on the cutting edge of homeland security. When an act of terrorism or a
natural disaster occurs, the citizens, the businesses, and the neighborhoods
are there in the trenches; they are the first first responders. With free
training offered by Mayor's Citizen Corps, citizens are prepared to save lives
in the critical moments following a disaster, and the bottom line is saving
lives."
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