January is a popular time for long-term planning. The year stretches out before us clean and ready for all the greatness we can stuff into it. However, every resolution-maker knows that soon the hustle and bustle of daily life crowds out our good intentions and big plans. As you make plans for your organization, family and personal goals, set some time aside to build preparedness into your calendar.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

- Contacts: Don’t wait until it is time to send out holiday cards to update contact information! Select a date with less pressure to reach out to your network and get updated phone numbers, emails, physical addresses and social media connections. Not only will you be better prepared come card-sending season, you’ll have a robust network to rely on and communicate with in an emergency.

- Anniversaries: Are there important dates for your city, family or organization? The anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake can be a great time to update your earthquake supplies. An annual conference can be the perfect time to update employee emergency contact information. A wedding anniversary can be a trigger to update the family Go-Kit. Set a reminder at the appropriate date prior to the anniversary to make sure that everything is in place and you’re not caught off guard.

- Piggyback Big Movements: There are a number of public campaigns to help people connect important dates with key safety measures. A good example is Daylight Savings Time being the time to switch out batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. In California, The Great Shakeout is a statewide effort to help people practice for an earthquake. Mark these items in your calendar now and add your own “to-do” items to these popular events.

- Annual Renewals: Make a note of when your important certifications need to be renewed. First Aid and CPR are common ones, along with other classes that might be required for your work or community positions. Put a reminder in with plenty of time to book your next class or test, or even recruit others to join you for the classes.

Of course you are not restricted to putting these important reminders on your calendar in January! Keep using your calendar to plan ahead and prepare throughout the year. And you can use this as a brainstorming session with family or co-workers to include as much fast and easy preparedness as you can.

We would love to hear how YOU are using your calendar to be prepared! Please feel free to share your strategies in our comments. 

Check out these Stat Messages for more details on using your calendar to prepare:

Preparing Your Calendar

Planning Ahead

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January 23rd, 2012 | Category: Good Advice | Leave a comment

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January 9th, 2012 | Category: Good Advice | Leave a comment

Donata Nilsen, MPH, DrPH(c), is CARD’s new guest blogger.  Donata is finishing up a two-year study of Alameda County nonprofits that serve the homeless. In her first blog entry, Donata introduces us to an interesting discovery she’s made.

Taking care of the basic immediate needs of clients, especially in this time of high need and reduced resources, can leave staff and volunteers at many nonprofits barely able to catch their breaths. So, it’s not surprising that preparing for disasters falls near the bottom of the “To Do” list. I’m currently finishing a 2-year study of organizations serving the homeless in Alameda County through the Center for Infectious Diseases and Emergency Readiness (CIDER) at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. I’ve learned that without deliberately focusing on Disaster Preparedness, some nonprofits are increasing their disaster preparedness and response capabilities. How? By leveraging longstanding interorganizational relationships. On July 21st, I’ll be presenting the results of my study and explaining why interorganizational relationships to increase nonprofits’ disaster preparedness warrant further attention.  For more information contact me at (925) 930-8492 or dnilsen@berkeley.edu

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June 24th, 2011 | Tags: CIDER, Donata Nilsen, emergency preparedness, Public Health | Category: Good Advice, Public Health | Leave a comment

If you’ve been reading our posts, you know that we are asking all nonprofit agencies in Alameda County to flex their social media muscles by posting a simple status update on Tuesday, May 24th, between 8am – 1pm. This is part of the disaster exercise sponsored by the Alameda County Public Health Department. We ask for everyone to include the hashtags #OpIndy (for Operation Independence) and #ACPHD (for Alameda County Public Health Department – the exercises coordinator and outreach sponsors) and the link to CARD is @CARDcanhelp. Essentially, the hashtag – the # symbol followed by a word or phrase — is like a giant flag waving on behalf of a specific topic or category. By clicking on #OpIndy, we’ll be able to see how many Twitter or Facebook users posted or retweeted the message you sent with the #OpIndy flag in it. Without the # symbol, OpIndy would get lost in the all the words. Try it for yourself: Go to Twitter and search for #humor or #joke and you’ll see that hashtags are an awesome way to tag and label your messages. Nonprofits are free to call CARD for support on how to use social media for fast, fun, and easy emergency/disaster preparedness. If you are part of a nonprofit in Alameda County, please post this message anytime on Tuesday, May 24th, between 8am-1pm. You can feel free to change the message, but please leave the hashtags!

Thanks for doing your part!

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May 24th, 2011 | Category: Alameda County, Good Advice, Public Health, Tweet | Leave a comment

May 19 is Malcolm X Day, honoring the activist’s birth in 1925 (d.1965). Born Malcolm Little in North Omaha, Nebraska, the self-taught minister had a passion for learning. He stated that “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Prepare your team for the future by helping them to view creative thinking as a vital preparedness tool. Creative thinking is key, for no matter how often you practice your plan, the unexpected is always possible. Create opportunities for staff to apply their resourcefulness: ask for alternative ways to evacuate, communicate or provide services; brainstorm applications of common items; solicit different ways to achieve preparedness and other goals. Hone your “thinking outside of the box” skills, and be ready to own the day in an emergency. Your staff, your family, and your community will thank you for it.

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May 2nd, 2011 | Category: 2011, Good Advice, STAT | Leave a comment

Looking to make change? Read this article written by Tony Schwartz, posted by The Good News Network on February 6, 2011, to learn six key steps to making change that lasts.

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/most-popular/6-keys-to-change-anything.html

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February 10th, 2011 | Category: Good Advice, Useful Tools | Comments (1)

We’ve long known that it’s easier for healthy people to respond to emergencies and disasters. It’s easy to increase the health and wellness in your workplace (and increase preparedness) by changing your water habits. Water is a critical resource for maintaining every day health, and in an emergency it will be one of the first things people need.

Beyond having an adequate amount of water stored for emergencies, consider adopting these healthy water habits:
1) Ensure everyone has a personal emergency water supply at their workstation
2) Encourage carrying a refillable water bottle at all times
3) Have water as a selection in your vending machines

Help your team to walk the world happy, healthy, and hydrated! Your agency will be better prepared for emergencies, and your people will personally benefit from your commitment to their health.

Tip: Lead by example – take the actions above and let everyone see your commitment to proper hydration.

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September 3rd, 2010 | Category: 2010, Good Advice, Public Health, Uncategorized | Leave a comment