September is National Preparedness Month – the annual campaign to encourage Americans to take steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, schools, organizations, businesses and communities. We want to encourage you – as individuals and families – to pledge to prepare during the month of September but we also want to encourage you and your family to make preparedness a part of your daily life every day moving forward. Here are three easy steps for you and your family to take to get involved and be better prepared:

Step 1: Pledge to Prepare
The first step to getting involved is to register as a coalition member at ready.gov/pledge. Members will have access to the online community, resources and tools available to help get you and your family prepared for an emergency.

Step 2: Take a Free Online Preparedness Course
Developed in partnership with the Emergency Management Institute and in consultation with faith-based and community partners, FEMA's "IS-909 Community Preparedness: Implementing Simple Activities for Everyone" training course will introduce you to a program for promoting individual and community preparedness through simple and engaging activities. The course is free, available online and is designed for anyone to use in coordination with your local emergency preparedness partners.

Step 3: Implement Simple Preparedness Activities
FEMA has made available to the public, free training and resources to help you and your family to take action and implement simple preparedness activities. Some of the simple activities include:

• Creating a no-cost or low-cost disaster kit
• Preparing for utility outages
• How to use a fire extinguisher

For more information:
CDC: Be Ready!
ready.gov