September is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM)! This awareness month is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps. NPM is held each September and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities

September 2011 is the eighth annual NPM and this year’s slogan is: “This September: A Time to Remember. A Time to Prepare”. This year’s goal is to turn awareness into action by encouraging all Americans to take the necessary steps to ensure that their homes, work, and community are prepared for disasters and emergencies.

The Ready Campaign’s websites (www.ready.gov and www.listo.gov) and toll-free numbers (1-800-BE-READY and 1-888-SE-LISTO) provide free emergency preparedness information and resources available in English and Spanish.

Citizen Corps brings together community and government leaders to involve community members in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response and recovery. These Councils enable collaborative planning between government and civic leaders and provide localized support for: outreach and educational efforts to the public; training and exercises that effectively integrate emergency responders, volunteers with a response role, and the general public; and volunteer programs that augment the full range of emergency response services. For more information about Citizen Corps, visit www.citizencorps.gov.