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.

National Preparedness Month officially begins in September; however there is a lot you can do now leading up to this important event! Pledge to Prepare today and register for the National Preparedness Coalition, which provides you access to important event information, discussion boards, group activities, and other beneficial information. Get involved today and make your community safer, stronger, and better prepared to manage any emergency situation.

Youth Preparedness and CERT Discussion Boards – Live on the NPM Site!

The Youth Preparedness and CERT Discussion Board s are now live on the National Preparedness Website! You must be a 2012 National Preparedness Coalition Member to access these prominent and popular programs. Registration is quick and easy and allows you to be notified as new tools, policies, and resources become available as well as participate in discussions about current and groundbreaking preparedness efforts.

Severe Weather Week is Coming Up!

Severe Weather begins on April 22! Are your family, business, and community ready to deal with a severe weather incident? Visit FEMA's Ready.gov website to learn more about how you can prepare yourself and your community for the effects of severe weather. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks including tips, tools, and other resources you can use to help prepare for severe weather situations!

Now Trending: Public Health Technology Challenge

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is challenging you to create a web-based application using open-source Twitter data that will automatically deliver a list of the top-five trending illnesses from a specified geographic region in a twenty-four hour period. Learn more at www.nowtrendingchallenge.com .

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Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates Updates

Webinar REMINDER TODAY: Meeting the Needs of Latino Communities in Emergency Management

* Webinar Reminder*

Meeting the Needs of Latino Communities in Emergency Management

When: TODAY, Tuesday, March 27th

2:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. CT/Noon MT/11:00 a.m. PT)

Register/Log in

Register HERE if this is your first time joining a webinar in the Community Preparedness Webinar Series.

Log in HERE if you have already registered for this webinar, have registered for a previous webinar, or if you're a HSIN.gov user.

Overview

Join us for this FREE event as we discuss emergency management needs and activities within Latino communities. Please click here for additional information on the Webinar.

NOTE: Before participating on the call , you must register for the event. If you've already registered with the Community Preparedness Webinar Series please use this link to log in on the day of the webinar. If

you have any questions regarding the call, please contact citizencorps@dhs.gov .

REMINDER: The Great Utah ShakeOut is Coming Up!

On April 17 at 10:15 am , those in and around the state of Utah will participate in the Great Utah ShakeOut . The ShakeOut is a live drill created to help people and organizations become better prepared for major earthquakes, and practice what protective actions to take when they happen. Register now to learn how to Drop, Cover, and Hold On , which can reduce injury and death during earthquakes.

John D. Solomon Fellowship for Public Service!

The John D. Solomon Fellowship Program was established by the family and friends of the late John D. Solomon, who was an accomplished journalist on homeland security, an active member of his local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and a passionate advocate of emergency preparedness and resiliency. This Program is the first student fellowship in New York City government devoted specifically to emergency management and provides New York City university graduate students the opportunity to receive a paid fellowship to help the City be more prepared for all types of emergencies. The deadline for applying is April 1, 2012 .

Additionally, don't forget to visit the Citizen Corps Website to learn more about the John D. Solomon Preparedness Award . This Award recognizes innovative practices and achievements of individuals and organizations working to make our communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to manage any emergency situation.

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DHS and FEMA Updates

Webinar REMINDER: April Monthly FEMA Preparedness Update

With springtime comes an increased chance for severe weather incidents! Make sure you're ready to communicate to your community all of the tools, tips, and resources available to prepare for, respond to, and recover from any type of severe weather incident that comes your way! Hear experts from NOAA and state and local practitioners discuss best practices and strategies to prepare your community.

* Webinar Reminder*

April FEMA Monthly Preparedness Update

When: Tuesday, April 3

3:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. CT/1:00 p.m. MT/Noon PT)

Register/Log in

Register HERE if this is your first time joining a webinar in the Community Preparedness Webinar Series.

Log in HERE if you have already registered for this webinar, have registered for a previous webinar, or if you're a HSIN.gov user.

Overview

Join us for this FREE event as we discuss engaging both traditional and non-traditional whole community partners in education and outreach efforts surrounding severe weather preparedness activities, tools, and resources.

NOTE: Before participating on the call , you must register for the event. If you've already registered with the Community Preparedness Webinar Series please use this link to log in on the day of the webinar. If you have any questions regarding the call, please contact citizencorps@dhs.gov .

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Any Plans for April 18?

You're Invited to a FEMA Workshop on:

IMPLEMENTING YOUTH PREPAREDNESS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

The FEMA Headquarters Individual and Community Preparedness Division, in partnership with the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Education, is bringing a day-long workshop on implementing youth preparedness in community-based organizations to the Seattle metropolitan area on Wednesday, April 18th, 2012 .

This workshop is designed to provide you with the information necessary to start integrating youth preparedness into your organization's existing youth offerings or to build a youth preparedness program from scratch.

As a workshop attendee, you will receive live instruction and a “how-to” guide on key topics, including:

• Engaging Partners
• Identifying Curriculum
• Implementing Your Program
• Promoting Your Program
• Evaluating Your Program
• Sustaining Your Program

Throughout the day, you will also interact with and learn from experts who have developed and delivered some of the most successful youth preparedness programs in the country.

And you will collaborate with these experts and your peers in a series of hands-on activities to produce some of the tools and inputs you need to implement an effective program.

Please register online by April 10! We look forward to seeing you!

About this FEMA Workshop

DATE : Wednesday, April 18, 2012

TIME : Registration begins at 8:30 AM, Workshop runs from 9:00 AM to 4:15 PM PDT

LOCATION : Embassy Suites Seattle – (3225 158th Avenue SE, Bellevue, Washington 98008)

RSVP : Click here to register before April 10, 2012 or contact Regina Moran

If you require accommodation including sign language interpreters; Computer Assisted Real-time Transcription (CART); materials in alternate formats, or other reasonable accommodations, please indicate your requirement on the online registration form.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

If you would like additional information about FEMA's youth programs, please contact our Youth Director, Regina Moran. If you are unable to attend the workshop, but still want to learn about youth preparedness, please visit FEMA's Youth Preparedness page, which includes a Catalogue of Youth Preparedness Resources, Recommendations for Youth Preparedness and instructions on how to sign up for FEMA's Children and Disasters email updates. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education has excellent resources, many of which can be found on their Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) website.