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.

Be Recognized for What You do for Your Community!

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce the application period for the 2012 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is now open through July 31, 2012 !

These awards recognize outstanding individuals, organizations, Citizen Corps Councils and programs working to make our communities safer, stronger and better prepared for any disaster or emergency event. Submissions will be accepted April 12 through July 31, 2012 at citizencorps@fema.gov .

The application period is significantly longer than last year to give applicants more time to complete their submissions. This extension enables applicants the time to showcase the outstanding work being done to make our nation more resilient to any disaster or emergency event while continuing the local day-to-day work these awards exemplify.

To be considered for this year's Awards, all submissions must be received by July 31, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. E.D.T . and are required to feature activities taking place during the period of January 1, 2011 and June 1, 2012. A review board of emergency management experts will select the winners in each of the following categories:

Winners of the 2012 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards should be announced in September during National Preparedness Month and will be FEMA's honored guests at a community preparedness roundtable event in Washington, D.C.

As you prepare your submission, take a look at the remarkable Champions of Change recognized last year at the White House for their contributions and achievements in helping their communities get ready for unexpected emergencies.

We can't wait to see what incredible work is going on to support preparedness and awareness in communities across the Nation! Submit your application to citizencorps@fema.gov for review by July 31, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. E.D.T !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW Teen CERT Materials and Webpage Go Live!

Based on the success of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program and the demand to create tools to support the nationwide effort to train teenagers on CERT, FEMA is pleased to announce the following NEW resources :

• Teen CERT web page which includes a new Teen CERT Public Service Announcement and Teen CERT Annexes to the CERT Basic Training and Train-the-Trainer Instructor Guides .
• Free National CERT Online Forum for exchanging information and ideas among CERT members across the country .

By training teens in emergency preparedness and response , you have the ability to empower our Nation's future leaders with the skills necessary to protect themselves and assist others in the event of an emergency. Students learn basic disaster response skills including fire suppression, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology, terrorism awareness and disaster medical operations. Participation in CERT is an excellent opportunity for teenagers to learn preparedness and leadership skills that last a lifetime!

If you are interested in starting a Teen CERT in your school or community, contact your local CERT Program today to learn more about getting started. Additionally, if you are considering integrating youth preparedness into an existing program or want to learn more about sustaining an existing youth preparedness program , the Youth How-To-Guide serves as a great resource for guiding you through the process.

Download these materials today and share your best practices via the CERT Online Forum on the National Preparedness Coalition Website .

Registration to the discussion forum is FREE ! Once online, you will find discussions about current and groundbreaking preparedness efforts from fellow CERT members across the country and information about new tools and resources such as those on the Teen CERT website! Additionally, the CERT Discussion site offers those already engaged in Teen CERT and youth preparedness opportunities to mentor and guide those who are looking to replicate their success.

• If you have not yet registered for the National Preparedness Coalition Website, please do so now
• If you are already a member, you can log in to your account here.

Be a part of this important effort, start or expand your Teen CERT program !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Webinar ANNOUCEMENT: Doing Business with FEMA – Tuesday, April 24!

*Webinar Announcement*

Doing Business with FEMA

When: Tuesday, April 24 th

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

Join us next week to hear subject matter experts discuss how your organization can do business with FEMA to become more engaged in emergency management. Doing business with FEMA may help the communities you serve be better prepared to respond to and recover from any disaster or emergency event. Hear experts from the Small Business Association and FEMA highlight resources available through the FEMA Private Sector Office, Ready Business and Citizen Corps to ensure organizations and communities have the capabilities to withstand the initial economic impacts of natural or man-made disasters and recover in ways that sustain or improve the community's well-being.

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.

Volunteer and Help Your Community Prepare for Disasters!

This week represents National Volunteer Week in which the efforts of volunteers nationwide are recognized and celebrated. Last year more than 64 million Americans gave their time in service and spent hours in shelters, faith-based and community groups, schools, etc. making a difference for millions of men, women and children nationwide. Whether preparing individuals and communities to be more resilient to a disaster event or lending a hand to the survivors of a severe storm or tornado, these individuals take action and emulate a culture of service. If you are looking for ways to volunteer in your community and support local emergency responders, disaster relief and community safety, contact your local Citizen Corps Council or Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) today for more information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pledge to Prepare: Leading up to National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month officially begins in September; however preparedness is a year-round practice and 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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates Updates

REMINDER: Only a Few Seats Remaining for the Seattle Youth Preparedness Workshop

Are you in the Seattle, Washington area and interested in starting or sustaining a youth preparedness program? If so, the FEMA Headquarters Individual and Community Preparedness Division, in partnership with the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Education, will be in your area TOMORROW, April 18 for a day-long workshop on implementing youth preparedness in community-based organizations. Only a few seats are remaining for this special event. If you are interested in attending, please contact Regina Moran immediately.

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 – Bellevue (3225 158th Avenue SE, Bellevue, Washington, United States 98008-3225)

RSVP: Click here to register now or contact Regina Moran (regina.moran@fema.dhs.gov)

Prepare Yourself for Severe Weather!

April 22 marks the beginning of the first National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. As we've seen in recent weeks, severe weather can strike anywhere, anytime and may come in many different forms. Be the first to receive important tips and information to help you prepare by following us on Twitter! You can immediately start preparing yourself and your family by knowing your local hazard risks , making a plan and keeping a disaster supply kit on hand!

Ensure You're Financially Secure During Disasters!

April is National Financial Capability Month and what better way to observe this month than by ensuring you are financially prepared for any disaster event. When disasters strike, you have little or no time to decide what to do next and you don't want to be left without access to money, credit cards or important documentation. Part of pre-disaster planning should include financial preparedness and there are many important steps you can take to being financially prepared. Learn more about these tips through FEMA's Emergency Financial First Aid Kit or by viewing the following webinars!

Money Matters in Disasters webinar held on April 10, 2012!

Financial Emergency Preparedness webinar held on May 3, 2011!

Follow us on Twitter for more tips and recommendations! http://twitter.com/#!/citizen_corps

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CERT News Digest - new online CERT Forum and Teen CERT materials

Join the New CERT Online Forum

CERTers across the country are invited to join the discussion at the CERT Online Forum – a place to connect with CERT members, managers, trainers, and CERT advocates everywhere to exchange information, stories, successes, and ideas.

Registration to the forum is FREE . Once registered, you will find discussions about current and innovative practices and initiatives from the CERT community across the country. You'll also find information about new tools and resources like the Teen CERT resources recently posted on the National CERT website. Additionally, the forum offers experienced CERT leaders the opportunity to mentor and guide those who are interested in CERT or have recently started a program.

Need help registering? If you have not yet registered please begin by going to National Preparedness Coalition website at http://community.fema.gov and click the “Click Here to Join” button . You will be directed to the registration/ login page and will click the “Register” button under the New Users section to proceed with online registration. Complete the online registration questionnaire and click the “Register” button and you will be officially signed up and logged in to the group. You will be returned to the National Preparedness Coalition home page.

Next, it is important that you go to the very bottom of the page and click “Join this group” and you will be automatically directed to a page where you can manage your email notifications. (If you do not click “Join this Group” then you will only be able to view the topics on the forum but won't be able to start your own discussions or reply to other discussions.)

Now you will choose how often you'd like to receive emails about the activity on the discussion forums – immediately, daily or never. Upon completion of this section, you will be taken back to the National Preparedness Coalition home page and will have full user rights to start new discussions or reply to other posts. From the home page, you will click the CERT Forum link located directly above the link to Resources and this will take you to the forum.

You're in! Now you may begin reviewing the discussions and replies by clicking on the subject title of each post. To post your own discussion, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Start a new discussion.”

We hope you enjoy connecting with fellow CERTers and find this experience to be beneficial and enjoyable. Please help the new network grow by telling another CERTer about it. Let's get social!

New Teen CERT Materials and Webpage

By training teens in emergency preparedness and response , you have the ability to empower our Nation's future leaders with the skills necessary to protect themselves and assist others in the event of an emergency. Students learn basic disaster response skills including fire suppression, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology, terrorism awareness and disaster medical operations—the same content as CERT basic training for adults but delivered to engage teens. Participation in CERT is an excellent opportunity for teenagers to learn preparedness and leadership skills that last a lifetime!

FEMA is pleased to announce the following new resources to support CERT training for teens:

• Teen CERT Annex to the Basic Training Instructor Guide
• Teen CERT Annex to the Train-the-Trainer Instructor Guide and Participant Manual
• Teen CERT Public Service Announcement video (English and Spanish)
• Launching and Maintaining the Training Guide
• Teen CERT tri-fold brochure
• Links to Teen CERT videos

All of the new resources are available at the national CERT website, www.citizencorps.gov/cert. Just click on Teen CERT.

If you are interested in starting a Teen CERT in your school or community, contact your local CERT Program today to learn more about getting started.

View and download these new materials today and share your experiences and best practices via the CERT Online Forum on the National Preparedness Coalition Website.

Sincerely,

National CERT Program
Federal Emergency Management Agency

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEMA Major Disaster Declarations Update

Hawaii Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides
Major Disaster Declaration number 4062 declared on Apr 18, 2012