Youth Preparedness Council Now Accepting Applications
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now seeking applicants for its Youth Preparedness Council . The Council supports FEMA's commitment to involving youth in preparedness-related activities and provides an opportunity for young people to offer their perspectives, feedback and insights on how to help make America more resilient.
As advocates for preparedness, Council members will complete a self-selected youth preparedness project and have the opportunity to share their opinions, ideas, solutions and questions about youth disaster preparedness with FEMA leadership and national organizations working on preparedness initiatives. Members also have the opportunity to brief FEMA officials on strategies, initiatives and projects throughout their one-year term.
To apply, applicants must be 13 to 17 years old. They must also be engaged in individual and community preparedness or have experienced a disaster that motivated them to make a positive difference in their community. Adults working with youth or on community preparedness are encouraged to share the application with young people who might be interested in applying for the Youth Preparedness Council.
To be eligible for consideration, applicants must submit a completed application form and two letters of recommendation. Completed applications and all supporting materials must be received no later than March 2, 2015, 11:59 p.m. EST . New Youth Preparedness Council members will be announced in May 2015.
For more information about completing and submitting the application, please visit: www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness-council .
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Business Disaster Recovery
Business owners invest time, money and resources to get their ventures up and running, but many of them fail to properly plan for disasters. According to the Small Business Administration, an estimated 25 percent of businesses do not re-open after a major incident. Having a functional disaster recovery plan will help owners keep their business operating.
Agility Recovery offers solutions on how to ensure your business remains resilient and a list of mistakes business owners commonly make when preparing for disasters. Here are a few of the items they say companies should include when planning for the unexpected:
- Anticipate the cost of recovery. Recovering documents and data can often run tens of thousands of dollars. Before disaster strikes, determine what documents you will be required to recover and consider storing them securely off-site or digitally;
- Properly inform and prepare employees. All employees should be familiar with the company's disaster recovery plan and their role in it. Make the plan part of new-hire training and review it each year with all employees; and
- Test your disaster recovery plan. Many business managers know their data is being backed up, but they have never tried to access it from a different location using hardware at that facility. Testing your recovery plan is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of preparedness programs.
Company leaders should have a general idea of how long it will take to restore data and the number of people needed to restore business functions. Before starting a disaster strategy, check out the remaining items in Agility Recovery's “11 Common Disaster Planning Mistakes.”
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Fire Safety for Older Adults
We all have an important role to play when it comes to preventing fires, especially during the winter season when home fires increase. As the mercury plunges, help ensure the safety of individuals in your family or community that are most at-risk for fires – older adults. According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), adults age 65 or over are twice as likely to suffer fatal injuries in a home fire.
Follow these tips from the USFA to help older loved ones safely enjoy the winter months:
- Make sure there is a working fire alarm installed on each level of their home;
- Conduct a home assessment to identify existing fire hazards;
- Educate them and their caregivers on how to prevent fires ; and
- Have a fire escape plan with easily accessible escape routes.
For community-wide fire education, the USFA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the “Fire-Safe Seniors” program to plan and implement fire safety interventions for older adults. Access the free toolkits, handouts, and other resources to prepare your community today! Your efforts can also count towards participation in America's PrepareAthon! so be sure to register on the campaign's website.
With a good understanding of fire prevention, older adults can stay safe this winter and seasons to come.
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Serve with CERT!
Volunteering, like disaster preparedness, is a year-round activity. If members of your community are looking for opportunities to give back this year, consider encouraging them to join your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Team members receive training in basic medical operations, light search and rescue, and many other useful disaster skills. After competing their training, CERT volunteers may support their communities in a variety of different ways before, during, and after emergencies, including by providing information to the public, conducting residential checks, supporting traffic and crowd control efforts, staffing emergency operations centers, and more. CERT teams are typically sponsored by fire departments, police departments, or other local emergency management agencies that provide training to and manage volunteers.
There are more than 2,300 CERT programs nationwide that help their communities in a variety of different ways. Watch this video showing the Bridgewater, MA CERT in action during a recent blizzard that left the town without power; then check out FEMA's blog and CERT Newsletter archives highlighting other great activities from teams around the country.
Learn more about CERT, find a team in your area, and encourage community members to start volunteering today. If a program doesn't exist in your area, you may be able to help create one by contacting your State's Point of Contact .
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Dates for Your Calendar!
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