HOME SAFETY COUNCIL® SUPPORTS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH

Council Launches New Initiatives Encouraging Kids and Families to Better Prepare for Emergencies Situations

During National Preparedness Month in September, the Home Safety Council is introducing new research programs to get children, parents, teachers and community educators involved and taking the actions needed to prepare for disasters:

The Kids Prepare America Contest

In September 2007, the Home Safety Council launched the Kids Prepare America Contest and called on third and fourth grade students across America to take the lead in driving family readiness efforts at home. By showing the Home Safety Council what they have done to help prepare their families and communities, students became eligible to win a trip to Washington, D.C. Ten Grand Prize Student Winners from across the country were selected to visit the nation’s capital with an adult family member, teacher and safety partner from the community to attend an awards dinner on June 5, 2008 in their honor.

Click here to view the contest winners.

Visit www.kidsprepareamerica.org for more information on how to prepare for disasters.

Get Ready with Freddie! – Expanded Program Distribution

As the new school year starts, the Home Safety Council is re-distributing its successful disaster preparedness program for kids – Get Ready with Freddie!. The program will be distributed to every elementary school with a third and/or fourth grade classroom across the country, reaching a total of 13 million teachers, students and their families with important messages on developing a communications plan and assembling “Ready-to-Go” and “Ready-to-Stay” preparedness kits at home.

Click here to download Get Ready with Freddie! classroom materials

New Family Readiness Research

New HSC research finds that while a majority of mothers have talked with their children about preparing for emergencies, very few have taken action to ensure that their family is prepared to respond in the event of an emergency.

The survey polled mothers and their children ages 6 to 11 and found that while nearly 60 percent of mothers feel their families are prepared for an emergency situation, less than one-third have developed and discussed a family communications plan. Alarmingly, even fewer families have assembled readiness kits. The children surveyed echo the same sentiment with 64 percent saying they think their family is prepared for an emergency, but only 27 percent reporting that their family has developed and discussed a communications plan or assembled readiness kits to use in an emergency situation.

Click here to learn more about the survey and family preparedness

Preparedness Tips for Families

No one knows when or where a disaster might strike, so families need to take time to prepare for emergencies in advance. The Home Safety Council advises families to have both a “Ready-to-Stay” and a “Ready-to-Go” Kit to ensure they are prepared for emergencies that require sheltering in place as well as for events that require evacuation.

Click here to download a “Ready-to-Stay” and “Ready-to-Go” Checklist
Click here to download a “Ready-to-Stay” and “Ready-to-Go” Checklist in Spanish
Click here to learn how to prepare your Ready Kits

About National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month is a nationwide effort held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. National Preparedness Month 2007 is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The goal of the month is to increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies and to encourage individuals to take action. For more information, visit www.ready.gov.