Resolve to be Ready 2014
Roughly half of all Americans make New Year's resolutions. In 2014, FEMA and the Ad Council are encouraging you to Resolve to be Ready for potential emergencies by committing to make preparedness a year-round family activity. The campaign focuses on “Family Connection” to reinforce the importance of parents including their children in preparedness conversations before disasters strike.
Resolve to be Ready is all new for 2014! This year, FEMA enlisted the platform Thunderclap to reach as many people as possible with the #Prepared2014 message. Show your support by spreading this message across your social media networks.
Here's how:
- Join FEMA's Thunderclap message and share a New Year's resolution of preparedness with your followers. Once you sign up, Thunderclap will sync your social media accounts to release an automatic Facebook post, Tweet or both on January 1, 2014 at 12:30 PM reminding your friends and followers to make a family emergency plan.
- Use #Prepared2014 in your social media messaging throughout 2014 to remind friends and followers to be prepared for emergencies all year long.
- Share preparedness messaging from the Ready Facebook and Twitter feeds.
By taking a few simples steps to prepare in advance, you can minimize the impact an emergency could have on your family or community. For more information about this exciting new campaign visit Ready.gov .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Goes Up…
Taking down the Christmas tree may not be as fun as putting it up but keeping a dried-out tree in your home or stored in a garage is a fire hazard ! When it comes to tree disposal, do you know your options? After the holidays, don't throw your Christmas tree in the trash. Real Christmas trees are recyclable. Typically, there are several environmentally sound ways to dispose of your tree. These options include:
- Curbside-pick up for recycling;
- A drop off recycling center; and
- Mulching programs.
Never dispose of your tree by burning it in a fireplace or wood stove . Doing so may result in a chimney fire. Pine and fir trees produce a lot of creosote when burning and may lead to deposits in your chimney. A burning tree is also hard to control and may burn faster than expected.
Learn about the many ways communities across the country are reusing or recycling real Christmas trees . If there is no tree recycling or pick-up program in your area, contact local authorities or Citizens Corps Council for a recommended means of disposal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ring In the New Year Safely
New Year's Eve is a night to have fun and celebrate the upcoming year. It's also a time to keep safety at the top of your New Year's resolution list. Make disaster preparedness part of your plans for the New Year and resolve to be ready for upcoming emergencies.
If you are attending a New Year's Eve gathering, ring in the New Year safely by locating the nearest exit to you upon arrival and be prepared to use it. If you are hosting a party, ensure your guests are aware of your home fire escape plan.
After the festivities end, get a head start on disaster preparations for you and your family with FEMA's Are You Ready? Guide . This interactive course provides information on specific hazards including steps to not only be reactive but proactive in response to them. The guide also teaches you about evacuation, emergency public shelters, animals in disasters and more.
Wishing you a safe and happy New Year!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dates for Your Calendar!
|
