Celebrate Service During National Volunteer Week
It's National Volunteer Week! This observance was established in 1974 and recognizes the efforts of all hardworking volunteers. During this time, take action to make a difference in your community by helping others.
Points of Light spearheads National Volunteer Week and is the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service. Through affiliates in 250 cities, Points of Light engages 40 million volunteers in 30 hours of service each year. Volunteers can assist in many areas of interest including disaster relief and disaster preparedness.
In addition, the American Red Cross has nearly 400,000 volunteers , which represent more than 90 percent of the organization's workforce. Red Cross volunteers fill many roles from coordinating blood drives to teaching safety classes.
Support your community! AARP has a website, Create The Good , that can connect you with volunteer opportunities in your area. We also encourage you to get involved in your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Citizen Corps, and the various Citizen Corps partner programs. Learn more about these programs and how you can help!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First Aid for Your Finances
Being ready for a disaster is more than storing extra water and supplies. It is equally important for you and your family to be financially ready for disasters. April is Financial Literacy Month. Now is a good to time to ensure you have adequate insurance, a plan to pay bills, and an alternate way to access financial and personal records. Taking these preparedness steps will help with disaster recovery.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Operation HOPE created the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) . Use the EFFAK to identify important documents, medical records, and household contracts.
When completing the kit, you will be guided to include pictures or a video of your home and belongings, and to store them in a safe place. Storing critical documents is also one of the ten ways to participate in America's PrepareAthon! so be sure to register your actions on the campaign website.
The 2014 EFFAK is available in English , Spanish , and reader enabled English versions that can be filled out online.
To learn more about the EFFAK and other tools you can use to prepare your finances, check out this blog post from Gwen Camp, Director of FEMA's Individual and Community Preparedness Division and a public service announcement from FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and Operation HOPE CEO and founder John Hope Bryant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Residents in Nevada and Utah Prepare for Disasters
Residents of the City and County of Elko, Nevada are proactively preparing for disasters. Wildfires are common in the region, and a magnitude 6 earthquake struck a town near the City of Elko in 2008. As part of America's PrepareAthon !, first responders, schools, hospitals, and community members will exercise their response to a large earthquake scenario in early June.
Four more events in April and May will get residents ready for emergencies. Some activities include training high school students and nurses at the local college to take protective action, and helping elementary school students build emergency kits in Spring Creek, Nevada.
The local Community Emergency Response Team in partnership with the American Red Cross will be presenting the Pillow Case Project to 50 Cub Scouts. The Pillow Case Project is an American Red Cross disaster preparedness education program that teaches students in grades 3 – 5 about personal and family preparedness, local hazards, and basic coping skills. Students receive a sturdy pillowcase after completing the program, and they are encouraged to store their personal emergency supplies kit in the pillowcase.
Residents in Utah are also preparing for disasters by participating in the Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill . Held each spring, the Utah ShakeOut draws nearly one million participants who practice how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in response to an earthquake. The event takes place on April 16, 2015 at 10:15 AM, and includes earthquake drills and preparedness fairs happening across the state in support of America's PrepareAthon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join the Webinar: Preparing Houses of Worship for Emergencies
The Department of Homeland Security's Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and FEMA are pleased to invite you to a webinar to prepare faith-based organizations for disaster.
The webinar will provide faith-based and community organizations with critical local, state and national resources that can help get communities better prepared for disasters and emergencies. Subject matter experts from emergency management, the faith-based and volunteer sectors, and the federal government will answer questions about engaging the faith-based community in disaster preparedness activities.
Title: Preparing Houses of Worship for Emergencies
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (ET)
How to Join the Webinar:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reminder: Family Preparedness and CERT Program Webinars
Webinar: Easy Ways to Help Prepare Your Family for Disasters
Hurry! There's only one day left to register for this webinar. Join our panel of four mothers for an exciting conversation on emergency preparedness for the entire family.
You don't want to miss this interactive dialogue to share preparedness ideas and learn from those who understand the importance of a prepared household. Each panelist will present on various topics and offer simple and actionable steps you can take to prepare your family for disasters.
Topics will include:
- Using a shopping checklist to assemble emergency supplies;
- Collecting and safeguarding critical documents;
- Developing and testing emergency communications plans; and
- Preparing pregnant women and parents with infants for disasters.
If you have questions about how to prepare your family, be sure to ask during the Q&A session following the presentations. This webinar will also offer closed captioning. Don't delay. Register today!
Title: Easy Ways to Help Prepare Your Family for Disasters
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2015
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (ET)
Guest speakers:
How to Join the Webinar:
Webinar: Resource Development Strategies for Your CERT Program
The FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Division invites you to a webinar to learn new strategies to develop resources for your CERT Program.
Title: Resource Development Strategies for Your CERT Program
Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Guest speakers:
- Dave Nichols, Program Manager for Mississippi Citizen Corps and CERT;
- Jolan Csukas, Volunteer Coordinator for Cowley County, KS CERT; and
- Brian Maier, Chief Operations Officer for Search and Rescue Ohio.
Our speakers will share their insights and advice on how to secure resources for training and activities, lessons learned from their experiences, and how their resource development efforts have benefitted their programs and communities.
The webinar will conclude with a question and answer session where participants will also be invited to share their suggestions for resource development.
How to Join the Webinar:
We hope that you will be able to join us! If you can't make the webinar on April 22, we will post the recording, transcript, and slide deck of the presentation under “Citizen Corps Partners/Affiliates” at: http://www.ready.gov/preparedness-leader/webinar-library .
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Dates for Your Calendar!
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