Release Number: HQ-10-167
WASHINGTON – Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate today kicked off the seventh annual National Preparedness Month, joining local Washington, D.C. officials and students from Ferebree-Hope Elementary School at the Serve DC Commander Ready event to talk about the importance of family and community emergency preparedness, especially as Hurricane Earl approaches the East Coast of the U.S. and other storms continue to form in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Hurricane Earl is another important reminder to all of us that every member of the community needs to be prepared for hurricanes and other disasters. Engaging with children on the topic of emergency preparedness is an effective way to bring home the preparedness message,” said Fugate. “Local events like this one are happening all over the country throughout September to underscore the importance of getting people of all ages involved in preparing for emergencies.”
National Preparedness Month is led by FEMA's Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and The Advertising Council, and is a nationwide effort encouraging individuals, families, businesses and communities to work together and take action to prepare for emergencies. National Preparedness Month is supported by a coalition of public, private and non-profit organizations that help spread the preparedness message. This year’s record number of coalition members are sharing preparedness information with their members, customers, employee, and communities. Members also spearhead activities that encourage specific steps for individual, neighborhood, and community preparedness.
In addition to the kickoff event, the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps will sponsor activities across the country throughout September. Ready is introducing several new PSA campaigns and Citizen Corps is presenting its National Achievement Awards during September.
For more information on the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, visit Ready.gov and CitizenCorps.gov.
Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.