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

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.

The Alabama Department of Homeland Security (AL DHS) and the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (GFBCI) believe Be Ready Camp plants seeds by teaching students the importance of preparedness, as well as skills they can use in emergencies. AL DHS and GFBCI believe those seeds will grow into the future of first response in Alabama. "Be Ready Camp is a responsible investment in the future leadership of our state," said Alabama Homeland Security Director Jim Walker. "The young people learning about Homeland Security challenges today will make up Alabama's next generation of firefighters, police officers, soldiers and health care professionals. Programs like Be Ready Camp are consistent with Governor Riley's vision to build a better Alabama."

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."

In 2006, Alabama's first Be Ready Camp acted as a pilot program, hosting only students from the greater Huntsville area. However, the camp's overwhelming success led to its expansion in 2007, and students from across the state were selected to participate. Be Ready Camp is a reality, thanks to the support of Governor Bob Riley and the donations of generous corporate sponsors. FedEx, Toyota, EMS Innovations and Wal-Mart have each made sizable contributions because they believe in the mission of preparing today's students to be tomorrow's leaders. Also, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center works hand-in-hand with AL DHS and GFBCI in all phases of planning and execution of Be Ready Camp.

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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Ready New York Elementary School Initiative - New York, NY

POSTED on 9/13/2007

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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Ready Ohio's Student Preparedness Initiative - Ohio

POSTED on 9/13/2007

Scioto Kids Get Prepared

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.

During the day, the students watched a movie titled "Disaster Dudes" which featured kids of about the same age encouraging them to get prepared for emergencies. After the movie, approximately 40 response agencies were gathered in the parking lot to give the students a chance to explore hands-on and learn about the different agencies, as well as encourage them to think about a career as a police officer, firefighter and/or emergency medical technician. The children also saw preparedness presentations by Red Cross, Southern Ohio Medical Center, law enforcement agencies and emergency management staff. Scioto County was one of four counties selected by The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) to host events during the month of September.

ODPS is leading a statewide campaign with a diverse group of national, state and local partners to highlight the importance of emergency preparedness and to promote community involvement through a wide variety of events and activities. As part of its outreach efforts, ODPS launched a preparedness Web site: www.ready.ohio.gov. The site contains resources to help all Ohioans develop a successful game plan to be prepared, including making a plan, putting together an emergency kit and sharing information with families, coworkers and neighbors. It also includes detailed information for businesses, older Americans, people with disabilities, preparing pets, weather disasters and multicultural needs.

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Youth Essay Contest - Farmington Hills, MI

POSTED on 9/13/2007

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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