American Red Cross chapters nationwide are uniting to help every family create a disaster plan. As incentive, in case your personal safety was not incentive enough, the Red Cross will give away an Apple iPad to one lucky resident who develops or updates their plan and registers to win at www.redcross.org during September – National Preparedness Month.
Whether it’s a hurricane, earthquake or house fire that threatens, families need a disaster plan first to make sure they are ready when emergencies happen.
“Just like no coach would bring a team onto a field without a game plan, every family needs their own game plan for emergencies,” said Matt Bertram, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Central-Southeast Ohio Region. “When disaster strikes, it’s too late.”
Disaster plans should include designating a meeting place right outside the home in case of a sudden emergency like a home fire, a location where everyone should meet if they can’t go home and an out-of-area contact who can help connect separated family members. All members of the household should work together on the emergency plan and each person should know how to reach other family members.
The Red Cross has tools to make it easier for people to make or update their plan. The American Red Cross Hurricane App for iPhone and Android smart phones helps people create a plan and share it with household members and over social networks. In addition, a template to build a plan is available at www.redcross.org/npm.
“Being prepared is a family’s best defense,” said Richard Bissell, Ph.D., chair of American Red Cross Preparedness Sub-Council and member of its Scientific Advisory Council. “Having a plan is vital to making sure all household members know what to do in an emergency.”
Other Ways To Get Ready
The Red Cross has several programs to help people, businesses, schools and communities be better prepared.
- Be Red Cross Ready is a web-based, interactive tutorial that teaches people how to be ready for emergencies.
- Red Cross Ready Rating™ is a free, web-based membership program that measures how ready businesses, organizations and schools are to deal with emergencies and helps them improve their readiness level.
- The Ready When the Time Comes program trains employees from businesses so they can be used as a community-based volunteer force when disaster strikes.
- Red Cross First Aid and CPR/AED training courses provide participants with the knowledge and skills to respond to emergencies in case advanced medical help is delayed.
- People can visit redcross.org for information on what to do before, during and after emergencies and disasters.
“We can’t control Mother Nature,” said Bertram, “but we can control what we do. And having a plan can make all the difference.”
If anyone would like to help the Red Cross bring aid to residents impacted by Hurricane Isaac and other emergencies, they can make a donation by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to their local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.
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