Let’s Get Prepared! Day 22 – Spread the Word

For Day 22 of the Let’s Get Prepared! Challenge, we’re going to spend time talking about how to bring the idea of getting prepared to others… how you talk about it, how you get your community involved, and how you can get more involved in your community to make a difference. 

This one is another “food for thought” post.

If you’ve made strides in your own emergency preparedness through this Challenge, or at the very least, you’ve been following along and skimming the posts each day, you have something to share!

There are plenty of people out there who don’t think of this kind of stuff at all, and just for reading this Challenge, you’re already more prepared to deal with what comes, because you will have been thinking more about concepts we don’t normally think about or talk about. 

photo credit: Charly W. Karl

Engage in a conversation with people — friends, family, neighbors — whom you think might be interested in learning more, or figuring out how to make some plans on their own. Tell them something you’ve learned, or something you’ve improved in your own plans, by having paid attention to them this month. 

You might also be in a position to influence groups of people in your community. I took the opportunity myself to work with our local paper this month to bring awareness and attention to the topic, to help inspire thinking. Here’s the article (i was on the front page!) to learn more about what I decided to share with my community. 

You can get involved in a more hands-on way, too: 

Reach out to your local government at the city, county, or state evel, to learn more about the Emergency Management Agency and what they have to offer in terms of education or activities that benefit community preparations and awareness. 

Disaster training and volunteer opportunities are available through Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) of FEMA.

18-24-year-olds can even join FEMA Corps, a branch of AmeriCorps, to spend 3 months in service to others who are rebuilding after emergencies. 

BOTTOM LINE:
What if everyone we know was just a little more prepared???

Today’s challenge:  

Find two different people to start a conversation with in your community (either your physical community or in your network of friends and family) and engage them in a conversation about their own preparedness, and how they can make some changes during National Emergency Preparedness Month, too!

Join in the conversation over at the Clever Girl Organizing Challenge Facebook Group to learn from and to teach others as we all take on the Let’s Get Prepared! Challenge! 

Reminder:  Our goal here is to take steps towards improvement.  The content in these posts is designed to inspire thinking, not fear.