September Monthly Focus: National Preparedness Month
What is National Preparedness Month?
The American Red Cross’s National Preparedness Month encourages people to prepare for disasters and emergencies to ensure the safety of themselves and others. Though preparedness is important all year round, September is a time to remind everyone how and why to make emergency plans.
How can you participate?
There are endless ways to promote National Preparedness Month! First, ensure that all of your Red Crossers have plans with their families: talking about what to do in any case from evacuation to home fire escape can make all the difference in any emergency. For more ideas on how to engage youth and raise awareness about this month and general preparedness, check out the resources below!
Helpful Articles
National Preparedness Month: Be Red Cross Ready
This feature highlights new inclusive preparedness resources including an American Sign Language and close-captioned video, courtesy of the Central California region, covering general disaster preparedness and home fire safety information.
Coping with Disasters: Free Resources for Kids
This page includes information on Prepare with Pedro, The Pillowcase Project, and other resources for building resilience in children through coping skills.
Activity Guides
Virtual Fire Safety Canvassing
Take the lead this year and help older adults be prepared!
Preparedness is important for everyone, but it can look a bit different for people of different ages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many older adults have been taking greater precautions than low-risk populations have. You can help older adults by learning how they should prepare for disasters and emergencies!
- Sign up for alerts and warnings for the most up-to-date information about disasters in your area.
- Help the older adults in your life identify their needs (medical, physical, and otherwise) and resources they rely on in their daily life.
- Create a support network of friends, family, and neighbors, and plan how to contact them in an emergency.
- Account for many different possibilities in your plan, from an evacuation to a stay-at-home order.
- Check out Red Cross resources like these
