Event Ideas

Ideas For Specific Audiences ('2 pagers'):

• Persons with Disabilities and Other Access or Functional Needs
• Education
• Pet Owners
• Private Sector
• Fire Community
• Emergency Managers
• Faith based Communities
• General
• Health and Human Services
• Tribal Communities
• NPM Power Point

 Ideas You Can Use From Past Events Near You

Awareness and Emergency Training Events:

Disaster Exercise Events:

• Teton County local responders exercised with over 200 National Guard soldiers from five states to evaluate their ability to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and/or explosive events. Teton County, WY
• U.S. Army Garrison - Fort Detrick held an annual tabletop exercise dealing with a Tornado response and recovery for essential personnel and a functional exercise simulating the evacuation of key Directorates on evacuation and Family Assistance Center activation. Fort Detrick, MD

Making a Plan Events:

• World Cares Center hosted an emergency preparedness training focused on developing preparedness plans for leaders and staff of senior centers and elder care facilities in Staten Island. Staten Island, NY
• Jefferson County hosted a Business Continuity Planning Workshop to educate businesses on how to protect themselves from disasters. Shepherdstown, WV

Events Involving an Emergency Kit:

• The Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN) partnered with the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale to debut the "Emergency Kit Cook-off," a unique cooking competition inspired by the 72-hour emergency kit. Scottsdale, AZ
• FEMA Offices organized a “Best Emergency Kit Competition” that teamed up with employees to create the best themed (i.e. home, work, pet, car and etc.) emergency kit within a limited budget. Nationwide

Disability, Access and Functional Needs Preparedness:

• Serve DC hosted a disability integration luncheon - featuring guest speakers and a panel discussion between attendees and emergency managers. Topics included: Fostering partnerships between EM professionals and organizations - encouraging participation of access and functional needs populations in emergency preparedness and planning. Washington, DC
• CalEMA's Be Prepared! Emergency Preparedness Event featured a live preparedness demonstration with a local service dog named Hawk and his owner. Hawk notified his owner after hearing an emergency alarm during a practice drill. Sacramento, CA
• A disabled registered nurse gave a two part presentation on her local public access channel. They ran her presentation several times during September. She also did local safety fairs with displays of different types of grab-n-go kits that included information on special needs and how to get prescriptions during a declared disaster. Carson City, Nevada 

Private Sector and Businesses Promote National Preparedness Month:

• Wal-Mart ran Preparedness PSAs on the checkout display in all 588 stores in the US with an estimated audience reach of nearly 24 million viewers. Nationwide
• Target displayed NPM Posters throughout their 1762 break rooms during the month of September. Nationwide
• Lowe's Home Improvement Store in Allen, TX educated people on how to be more prepared in case of an emergency by encouraging shoppers to have an emergency supply kit, an emergency plan, and to stay informed about the different emergencies that can happen in their area. Allen, TX
• The 5^th Annual African American Women's Business and Career Conference held at the Chicago Cultural Center featured a preparedness panel discussion and provided information on FEMA.  The event was attended by approximately 100 people and local television personality Val Warner was also in attendance.

Preparedness Events for Youth:

• Teen Advocates for Community Safety and the Cedar Park Fire Department partnered with Chick-Fil-A’s Family Night to host an I’m Too Prepared to Be Scared Event that conducted safety training and demonstrations, gave out preparedness printed materials, and led fun safety games. Cedar Park, TX
• FEMA held a workshop on Implementing Youth Emergency Preparedness in Your Organization at New Orleans City Hall.  The goal of the workshop was to provide an interactive roadmap and valuable information to encourage leaders of organizations working with youth to execute a preparedness program. New Orleans, LA
• The Home Depot teamed up with Ready Georgia to help Georgia's kids learn all about emergency preparedness during the free September Kids Workshop at every Home Depot in the state, and learn what it means to get ready for the unexpected, in recognition of National Preparedness Month. Workshops were designed for children ages 5 to 12, and parents were welcomed to attend. Children made bean bag toss games and received a cool Ready Kids activity book, kid-sized orange apron and achievement pin.

Faith Based Organization Events:

• SAFE Washington's High Holiday Preparedness Training was geared toward helping participating Jewish Agencies in Washington State prepare for the High Holidays through awareness, emergency training, policy, and procedures. Washington State
• "Faithful Readiness" Southwest Regional Preparedness and Security Conference fostered partnerships among faith leaders and community leaders with local, state, and federal homeland security and emergency management officials to improve resiliency against all hazards by promoting a whole of community approach and developing cross-sector solutions. Tucson, Arizona 

Collaboration with Health:

• Cascade County and the City of Great Falls hosted a Walk-in Flu Shot Clinic that provided an opportunity for health care providers and local first responders to demonstrate their ability to provide mass care to the community in a quick and coordinated manner. Cascade County, MT
• Union County Office of Health Management deployed and operated their Western Shelter system and provided All-Hazards Preparedness information to the public. Union County, NJ
• Morris County Office of Health Management provided emergency preparedness information for all hazards with an emphasis on preparing for public health emergencies at their community health day, which included free screenings and many exhibitors and workshops. Morris County, NJ

Preparedness Events for Pets:

• Sweetwater County Animal Response Team held a Build Your Own Kit Day and helped community members build emergency kits for their pets. Rock Springs, WY
• Washington State Animal Response Team set up a pet preparedness booth at the 9^th Annual Harbor Hounds Dog Walk. Volunteers walked their dogs in a "Beauty and Brains" contest and shared dog preparedness tips.  The "Beauty" portion of the contest included a fashion show with different dog dress-up categories. The "Brains" portion had various fun categories of obedience demonstration.  Gig Harbor, WA
• FEMA Region 6 offices organized a Tribute to the Dogs of 9/11 and Pet Preparedness Table. Table highlights were a pet preparedness kit, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals window stickers labeled "Pets Inside," and photos of local search and rescue dogs of 9/11. Denton, TX

Social Media and Other Technology:

• Webinar - Heritage Preservation hosted a webinar to share tips with cultural institutions on how to establish a relationship with their emergency responders before, during, and after a disaster strikes. Nationwide
• Websites - Many organizations updated their website to include preparedness information and ask partner organizations to post preparedness information on their website or in a newsletter (ex: NEA’s post at: http://www.nea.org/tools/43127.htm or at AH&LA's website at: http://www.ahla.com/content.aspx?id=15706). Nationwide
• Twitter – Fisk Consultants Group posted on Facebook and tweeted preparedness items 2-3 times a day throughout the month of September. Nationwide
• Texting - Jefferson County Homeland Security and Emergency Management hosted a “Text Drill” to encourage Americans to send a text first before making a voice call during a critical event, thereby allowing communication networks to remain robust for first responders. Jefferson County, WV

For more information, contact NPM@fema.gov