This Citizen Corps News Digest is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners.

Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates

An End of Year Thank You for Serving Your Communities

In 2011, America logged the highest number of major disaster declarations since the inception of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reporting in the 1950s. Events this year included Hurricane Irene which impacted 14 states, fires in the Southwest, the earthquake on the East Coast, flooding in North Dakota, and the devastating tornadoes that hit the Midwest and South. Americans in nearly every state and territory were affected by some type of disaster, and many are still in the recovery process. That is why we here at FEMA's Individual and Community Preparedness Division would like to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for serving your communities and building resiliency in them to these disasters and the ones yet to come. Without your tireless work, much of which is voluntary, disaster survivors wouldn't be as equipped to recover. Our neighbors might not be as informed and prepared. And we as a nation certainly wouldn't be as ready to respond to whatever comes our way.

I applaud you for your amazing work and I encourage you to continue to help each other. Help your friends and neighbors “Resolve to be Ready” in 2012.” Visit www.ready.gov/resolve for more information designed to encourage citizens to make disaster preparedness a New Year's resolution. Spread the word to local businesses, schools, faith-based, and other community organizations. And by all means, please lean on us for support. Visit www.citizencorps.gov for a variety of resources geared toward supporting and coordinating volunteer activities. If there is something you need but don't see it, please let us know and we will locate it for you.

We are here to serve you, just as you serve your communities. Thank you again for your dedication to a prepared and resilient country. We wish you a safe and healthy 2012!

Paulette Aniskoff
Director, Individual and Community Preparedness

The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Individual and Communtiy Preparedness Division

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.