NEWS RELEASE: National Preparedness Month - Get Involved! Be Part of Something Larger

Contact
Communications Specialist
Jennifer Hillmann
720-879-2462
jennifer.hillmann@state.co.us

Centennial, Colo. – September 25, 2017 — National Preparedness Month (NPM) concludes this week and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) hopes individuals will be inspired to get involved and become a part of something larger. Year round, millions of people participate in America’s PrepareAthon, building the national momentum of preparedness.

In the fall, National PrepareAthon! Day takes place on September 30 in conjunction with National Preparedness Month. This month DHSEM has shared how to make an emergency plan, how to help your neighbors and your community and how to practice and building out your plans.

Organize your friends and neighbors to have a PrepareAthon party or gathering where you can exchange ideas on your personal emergency kits, family communication plans or even evacuation plans if your neighborhood were to be evacuated and you were not home. Could you rely on a neighbor to grab your go kit or the important documents in your home if you received the notification to evacuate and you were away?

Our nation's emergency managers and first responders work to keep us safe, but they cannot do it alone. We must all embrace our individual responsibility to be prepared – in doing so, we contribute to the safety and security of the nation as well.

Becoming more prepared in case of an emergency is easier than you might think. Whether it's your home, your neighborhood, your place of business, or your school, you can take a few simple steps to prepare your community. While no two projects will be the same, successful projects will share a few common practices.

We encourage you to incorporate the following elements into your service project:

• Create a team with your friends and neighbors to share the effort
• Set outcome-based goals and track your progress to those goals
• Celebrate your successes together

Don’t forget, the goal of NPM is to increase the overall number of individuals, families, and communities that engage in preparedness actions at home, work, business, school, and place of worship. Act now, when things are calm and you have time to plan ahead.

Want more tips and ideas? Head over to our website at www.READYColorado.com and read the full blog post, or follow us all week on our social media accounts for new posts on the National Preparedness month campaign.

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