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| 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. |
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DHS -FEMA Updates
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2012 Individual and Community Preparedness Award Recipients Announced
https://www.citizencorps.gov/newsevents/awards/2012/2012winners.shtm
FEMA is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. These Awards recognize the innovative practices and achievements of individuals, Citizen Corps Councils, and non-profit, faith-based, and private sector organizations working throughout the nation to make our communities safer, stronger and better prepared to manage any disaster or emergency event.
Applications were received from 38 States, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Each application reflected a wide array of activities, partnerships, and achievements, and demonstrated how much can be accomplished when the potential of the Whole Community is harnessed. The 2012 Award recipients are working in the areas of youth preparedness, implementing technology advances to promote preparedness and sustainability, training, bringing together disparate entities to advance the mission of preparedness and much, much more. Because of their efforts thousands of people across the nation are more prepared, and are working themselves to make their community more resilient Please read about the great work our recipients are doing.
FEMA would like to congratulate the 2012 awardees in the following categories:
Outstanding State Citizen Corps Council Initiatives
Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Council Initiatives
- New York City Citizen Corps Council (NY)
Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Initiatives
- CERT Program and Volunteers, City of Newport Beach (CA)
Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness
- Chinatown Community Development Center (CA)
Preparing the Whole Community
- American Red Cross Gateway to the Golden State (CA)
Promising Partnerships
- Partners in Preparedness (NY)
Awareness to Action
- American Red Cross of the Poconos (PA)
Innovative Use of Technology
- North Dakota State University Agriculture Communication (ND)
Volunteer Integration
- West Pierce County Fire and Rescue CERT Program (WA)
Community Preparedness Heroes
- Michael Parker (CA)
- Mohamed Ali (WA)
- Scott Ellis (NJ)
Additionally, a recipient was chosen for the Second Annual John D. Solomon Preparedness Award , named for the late creator of the groundbreaking blog, In Case of Emergency, Read Blog: A Citizen's Eye View Of Public Preparedness:
Second Annual Recipient of the John D. Solomon Preparedness Award
- Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE) (FL)
The award winners were selected by a panel of leaders representing the Whole Community, including the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), Target, the American Red Cross and FEMA.
All winners will be invited, as FEMA's honored guests, to a community roundtable event in Washington, D.C.
For a description of the award categories, please see the Application Guide.
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***Webinar Announcement***
Fire Prevention and Preparedness: Activities and Events to Engage Your Communities
Much like preparing for any disaster or emergency event, Fire Prevention and Safety is a year-round activity. As such, FEMA's Individual and Community Preparedness Division and Ready.gov will present a FREE Webinar on Wednesday, October 17 about fire prevention events and activities you and your stakeholders can implement within your communities to engage the public. Fires are the most common hazard, and it's smart to know your risks and appropriate protective actions, especially with the holiday season approaching.
Speakers from the United States Fire Administration and Hope World Wide will discuss their efforts to prepare communities for fires; sharing their resources, ideas and projects before taking questions from participants.
- The USFA will discuss their Have Two Ways Out Campaign during National Fire Prevention Week, which falls this week (October 7-13).
- Hope World Wide will discuss their Protecting Our Neighbors Campaign, which encourages fire prevention education projects in neighborhoods at risk for homes fires, and .
Register/Log in
Register if this is your first time joining the Community Preparedness Webinar Series.
Log in if you have already registered for this webinar, have registered for a previous webinar or if you're a HSIN.gov user.
If you have questions regarding this event, please contact citizencorps@dhs.gov
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Millions to Participate in Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill
One week from today, on October 18, 2012 at 10:18 AM local time, more than 12 million people across the country and the world will participate in the Great ShakeOut . This worldwide earthquake drill helps people in homes, schools and organizations improve preparedness and practice how to stay safe during an earthquake or even stronger aftershocks. Take 90 seconds to Drop! Cover! and Hold On! To ensure if there is an earthquake, you know the proper protective action.
Twelve states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, British Columbia and Southern Italy will hold official ShakeOut drills in their respective state, territory or country. And now, for the first time, all additional individuals, communities and other whole community partners will also be able to participate in the drill, even if their state, territory, or country are not formally participating. Find your location at ShakeOut.org or if not officially listed, click “Other States and Countries” and register today!
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Fire Prevention Week Emphasizes Having Two Ways Out
Sunday, October 7 marked the kickoff to National Fire Prevention Week and we here at FEMA would like to say “Thank You” to all the men and women in the fire service who risk their lives on a daily basis to protect us from the harm of fires. Throughout the week, FEMA has been sharing important fire prevention tips, information and resources to help get you and your family prepare in the event of a fire. In case you missed it, here's a link to a blog post from U.S. Fire Administrator Ernie Mitchell , encouraging everyone to participate in Fire Prevention Week and stressing the importance of having two ways out of your home in the event of a fire.
During Fire Prevention Week there are a few exercises you can practice to ensure you and your family's safety:
- Practice your fire escape plan at home, school or the office
- Teach children how to escape on their own
- Ensure you take into account individuals in your home with disabilities
Check out these great tips, resources, handouts and guidance from the U.S. Fire Administration on how to stay safe before and during a fire emergency. You can also check out this great informational video from FEMA Region V Administrator, Andrew Velasquez III and Fire Commissioner for the city of Chicago, Jose Santiago.
Finally, are you looking to get involved in fire safety and response? Citizen Corps' partner program, Fire Corps , provides a unique opportunity for individuals to support and augment the capacity of resource-constrained fire and emergency service departments at all levels: volunteer, combination and career. Find your local Fire Corps program and get involved today!
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Protecting Public and Private Sector Cybersecurity
Today's world is more interconnected than ever before. Yet, for all its advantages, increased connectivity brings increased risk of theft, fraud, and abuse. During National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its partners from the public and private sector are highlighting the importance of protecting against cyber crime.
DHS is working with its public and private sector partners to protect against:
- Corporate Security Breaches : The majority of corporate security breaches occur when hackers exploit employees through social engineering and scams.
- Spear Phishing : Hackers target employees through emails that appear to be from colleagues within their own organizations, allowing cyber criminals to steal personal information.
- Social Media Fraud : Cyber criminals increasingly using social media to engage in identity theft and entice individuals to download malicious code or reveal passwords.
Multiple DHS components, including the Secret Service – through its Electronic Crimes Task Forces and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are working to fight against cyber crime. And through the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), DHS works to promote cybersecurity awareness and digital literacy amongst all internet users.
What is your organization doing to combat cyber crime? We'd love to hear from you – let us know by adding a discussion to the National Preparedness Coalition Website!
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Increase Your Citizen Corps and CERT Volunteer Membership!
Join Points of Light and the Hands On Network on Tuesday, October 16 for a FREE webinar discussing how to increase volunteer membership on your projects by uploading your event information into the All for Good Website portal. All for Good is a virtual volunteer recruitment tool that is easy to find and has over 2 million unique visitors monthly.
This webinar will be a great way for you to learn about a unique method to increase participation in your preparedness events – such as drills and exercises! Register today!
And, while you're thinking about how to increase membership on your Council or CERT, please take this opportunity to update your Council/CERT Program information on the national registry by TOMORROW , Friday, October 12th. The National Report for FY2012 will based on data that is downloaded from the registry on Friday, October 12th and only information that has been updated on the website at that time can be included in the report.
For more information on the registration process, please visit these pages: http://citizencorps.gov/citizencorps/register/register.shtm or https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/registry.shtm. The registration support pages are designed to help you navigate the registration process, including written guides, tutorial videos and webinars.
To sign in to your account to update your profile go to: https://www.citizencorps.gov/cc/secure/index.do.
Thank you as always for all of the excellent work that you do.
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