What is National Preparedness Month?

NPM is held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities.

September 2010 is the seventh annual NPM. This year will focus on encouraging Americans to work together to take concrete actions toward emergency preparedness. We are encouraging all Americans to join the readiness team and truly help themselves, their neighbors and their communities be Ready.

• NPM Coalition membership is open to all public and private sector organizations. Groups can register to become an NPM Coalition Member by visiting ready.gov and clicking on the NPM banner.

• In 2009, nearly 2,700 organizations joined the Ready Campaign in promoting the readiness message across the country in homes, schools, businesses, and communities to highlight the importance of individual and community public emergency preparedness throughout September.

• During NPM, Coalition Members share preparedness information with their members, customers, employees, and communities. Members spearhead activities that encourage specific steps for individual, neighborhood, and community preparedness.

• Throughout the year, the Ready Campaign promotes individual emergency preparedness. Ready is a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign, produced in partnership with The Advertising Council, to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.

• The Campaign’s Web sites (ready.gov and listo.gov) and toll-free numbers (1-800-BE-READY, TTY 1-800-462-7585, and 1-888-SE-LISTO) provide Americans with free emergency preparedness information.

• Citizen Corps is FEMA's grassroots strategy to bring together government and community leaders to involve citizens in all-hazards emergency preparedness and resilience. Local Citizen Corps 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 all sectors of the community; and volunteer programs that augment the full range of emergency response services.

For more information about Citizen Corps, visit www.citizencorps.gov.

National Preparedness Month is Almost Here!

There are only 8 days left until National Preparedness Month (NPM)! If you haven’t done so already, please consider joining the NPM Coalition. More than 2,800 organizations have signed up so far. Help us reach our goal of more than 3,200!
NPM is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. NPM Coalition membership is open to all public and private sector organizations for free. By joining the Coalition your organization would agree to promote emergency preparedness during the month of September.

Once you register you will receive access to the NPM Web site where you can find a toolkit that includes templates, resources, and tips to assist you with promoting emergency preparedness. You will also find an NPM calendar where you can post your events and see what other organizations are doing in your community. In addition, can share your success stories and read about the successes of others.

You can register to become an NPM Coalition Member by visiting http://ready.adcouncil.org. To learn more about NPM, visit www.ready.gov and click on the NPM banner. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Ready Campaign at NPM@dhs.gov.