NPM 2007 Week-One-In-Review Journal
The first week of National Preparedness Month 2007 has officially passed and The Ready Campaign would like to express appreciation to the more than 1700 organizations that took time to encourage and educate families and businesses in their communities on simple ways to prepare for all hazard emergencies. This year National Preparedness Month is divided into four themed weeks. September 1-8 focused on Ready Kids. During this week, many events and initiatives took place across the country and the Ready Campaign would like to share with you some information about a few of these events. Hopefully these stories can encourage and inspire you to take personal action, plan a future event, and to continue spreading the preparedness message beyond September.
Quick link to:
- Be Ready Camp - Huntsville, AL
- Ready New York Elementary School Initiative - New York, NY
- Ready Ohio's Student Preparedness Initiative
- Youth Essay Contest - Farmington Hills, MI
Be Ready Camp - Huntsville, AL
POSTED on 9/13/2007
Huntsville, AL
During National Preparedness Month's Back-to-School week, Alabama wrapped up the first week of its second-annual Be Ready Camp, and graduated more than 50 Youth Preparedness Delegates on Saturday, September 8. Students graduated from the Be Ready Camp the morning after completing a full-scale disaster exercise.
Be Ready Camp is an educational experience for sixth-grade students focused on building preparedness skills for natural and man-made disasters. The Be Ready Camp curriculum includes an introduction to survival and first aid, disaster psychology and terrorism awareness, as well as instruction on creating a family emergency plan and an emergency supply kit.Be Ready Camp culminates in a disaster exercise, with kids stepping into the shoes of public safety professionals, such as police officers, firefighters, dive teams, doctors, soldiers and first responder volunteers. The mock disaster allowed students to use the skills they learned during their time at camp and also allowed them to work side-by-side with actual first responders. During this exercise, the first responders quickly arrived on-scene when students called for their assistance to rescue victims in the woods and water, and smoke-filled buildings.
All Be Ready Camp activities, including the mock disaster exercises and graduations, are held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Huntsville, AL
Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Sydney Hoffman said, "We know from last year's camp that these young people take the knowledge gained back to their homes, schools and churches. They are making their communities safer now and will continue to make a difference for years to come."
Huntsville, AL
Be Ready Camp sessions will also be held September 11-15 and 18-22. The mock disaster exercise will occur each Friday from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. and students will graduate from Be Ready Camp on Saturdays in September at 9:30 a.m.
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POSTED on 9/13/2007
New York, NY
The New York City Office of Emergency Management (NYC OEM) has announced its commitment to introducing school children to the preparedness message. NYC OEM has developed two New York for Kids Preparedness Guides. The guides were developed in coordination with Scholastic and each will provide relevant information to students regarding different disaster scenarios and actions that kids can take to prepare themselves and their families for the unexpected. One guide is geared toward elementary school students and the other targets middle/high school-age students. The information is designed to introduce students to and inform them about emergency preparedness, sparking the discussion between students and their parents. Special attention has been paid to ensure the information is age appropriate and to ensure the guides informs students rather than scare or alarm them.
The Kids Preparedness Guides will be distributed to students this fall and are estimated to reach more than 1.1 million school-aged children in NYC. In addition to distributing the guides, NYC public school teachers have been encouraged to include a discussion of preparedness in their lessons during the month of September. Additionally, NYC OEM is working closely with NYC Department of Youth and Community Development to identify opportunities to incorporate the Kids Preparedness Guides and the preparedness message into existing after-school programs.
The New York City's Office of Emergency Management's New York for Kids Preparedness Guides is scheduled to debut this October. For more information about NYC's OEM programs and activities during National Preparedness Month and throughout the year, visit their Web site at www.nyc.gov/html/oem.
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POSTED on 9/13/2007
Scioto County, Ohio
Approximately 1,500 fourth through sixth graders gathered on Shawnee State University's campus September 6 for a National Preparedness Month event titled "Scioto Kids Get Ready." The event was hosted by Scioto County Health Department along with Scioto County Emergency Management Agency. The community came together and brought kids to the campus to teach them about preparing for disasters in hopes that they would return home and share the message with their family members and friends.
Scioto County, Ohio
Scioto County, Ohio
Youth Essay Contest - Farmington Hills, MI
POSTED on 9/13/2007
Farmington Hills, MI
The Farmington Hills, Michigan Emergency Preparedness Commission (EPC) held its inaugural Emergency Preparedness Essay Contest for fifth and eighth grader students. Essays focused on how families can take steps to prepare for emergencies and included tips such as creating an emergency supply kit, taking shelter, and becoming knowledgeable about first aid and severe weather conditions.
The top three essays in each grade were awarded merit certificates from the Emergency Preparedness Commission and gift certificates of $75, $50 and $25, donated by Botsford Hospital. Winners will also be given the opportunity to share their essays with the community on Cable TV - Channel 8. Additionally, all students who submitted essays received tickets to the Phoenix Theaters.
Please take a moment to read the essays written by these very insightful students. Winning essays are also posted on the Farmington Hills Emergency Preparedness Commission Web site at www.FHReady.org.
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