For nine seasons the TV show “American Idol” has been a ratings giant, with millions of weekly viewers tuning in to see regular people sing their way to fame and fortune.   Have your readiness repertoire benefit from this phenomenon by encouraging your team to use their talents to make preparedness efforts fun and memorable!

Some “Idol” suggestions:

Turn your team into safety-song singing superstars!

Tip:  Listen to Schoolhouse Rock! to get some inspiration for setting education and learning to upbeat, catchy tunes.

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October 11th, 2010 | Tags: couch, Couch Potato Preparedness | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Given the proliferation and popularity of cooking shows (Hell’s Kitchen, Good Eats, Iron Chef, Top Chef, etc.) and how many professional chefs have become household names (Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis, Rachel Ray, etc.) it’s a great time to engage your team in cooking up some preparedness recipes, and planning how you’ll address feeding people with your emergency supply cache.

Two ideas:

1) Hold a preparedness potluck. Award prizes for the most creative and delicious treats made from foods in your disaster supply cache. Schedule this to coincide with when you need to check and rotate supplies.

2) Give everyone participating the same ingredients. Choose items like rice, beans and spices (think low-cost, healthy, long shelf life) and have a crisis and calamity cooking competition!

Empower the chefs on your team to cook up something great and fun!

Tip: Remember that Y2K left behind several books on disaster cooking — many available for just pennies!

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October 4th, 2010 | Tags: contest, Couch Potato Preparedness, empower, food, supplies | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Comments (2)

Creating a culture of health as a path to emergency preparedness reaps the extra benefits of encouraging everyday healthy habits. For desk-bound workers and others with limited activity, encourage some safe, structured, preparedness-related physical activities.

Suggestions:

Encourage everyone to practice deep breathing as they go, and have your preparedness and safety efforts leave your team feeling healthier and more energized!

Tip: Download some desk or office fitness resources and make them available to your team!

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September 27th, 2010 | Tags: exercise, fitness, health, office | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Comments (1)

A key emergency preparedness and disaster response skill — one rarely mentioned — is knowing how to breathe to decrease stress, increase alertness, and foster health during a crisis situation. While learning how to breathe is easy, the hardest piece may be choosing the best model for beginning the breathing conversation.

Different techniques might resonate better for different people: learning how to breathe from a yoga teacher, a Lamaze coach, or “tactical/combat” breathing as taught by an instructor from a more military-style paradigm.

Tactical breathing is quite simple: Breathe in to a slow count of 4, hold for 4, breathe out for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, repeat!

Youtube offers many videos to help get you started with building your team to be great breathers!

Tip: Encourage anyone with a Smart phone to download a “breathing” App! Examples: Tactical Breathing Trainer, or Breathing Zone.

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September 20th, 2010 | Tags: health, Public Health, techniques, Technology | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Virtually every emergency supply list includes advice about storing food for emergencies and disasters. Help your team to think of stored food as a resource “to thrive” not just “to survive” when emergencies happen.

Empower and support your team in making healthy food choices – help them prepare for health!

Tip: Encourage people to keep healthy snacks at work: nuts, dried fruit, granola, chewable vitamins, etc. In an emergency, it will help people to be more resilient and self-sufficient.

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September 13th, 2010 | Tags: emergency preparedness, food, health, Preparedness, Public Health, thrive | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

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

For many people, the hardest concept to grasp with social media is that Facebook, Twitter and other platforms aren’t simply new portals for getting the same old messages out – they are part of a fundamental shift in how people select, share, receive, understand, and interact with information. This shift also changes who and what are considered the best sources for accurate information on emergency preparedness, public safety, and disaster response.

Gone are the days where a well-written press release was the key to garnering public attention.  Changing your behaviors and mindset to succeed in this new social media environment can be a challenge – especially if you don’t know the rules. Help your social media efforts to avoid some known pitfalls by reviewing the basics of good social media behavior!

Tip: Share this video with your whole team. Make sure everyone understands the scope of the social media revolution and what it means for your organization’s preparedness and response efforts.

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August 30th, 2010 | Tags: agency, communication, community, FaceBook, social media, Twitter | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Of the major social media platforms, Twitter is the most simple in design: 140-character messages posted to people who choose to listen.  For emergency planners Twitter has demonstrated its power by allowing anyone who can send a text message the ability to communicate with a world-wide audience in seconds. No traditional media outlet can beat the speed of a person who is onsite with a text-enabled phone!

Go to Twitter to find trending conversations, or to read up on a pressing issue.  The 140-character limit allows you to scan messages quickly and make the best use of your time.  Please follow @CARDcanhelp and @CESA2010 and let us know how we can help you to embrace Twitter.  Notice how Tweets can be organized by topic and searched for using the “#” sign (called a hashtag on Twitter): #H1N1, #ACPHD, #humor, etc.

Tip: Registering your Twitter username in various Twitter directories and making sure your profile is loaded with keywords are great ways for people to easily find your Twitter site.

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August 23rd, 2010 | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Some popular ways to share preparedness on Facebook include:

Each of these options allows for sharing in several ways, including posting events on a calendar, writing notes, and (like most social media sites) Facebook allows 140-character “status updates“.

Whether or not you have a Facebook presence, if you seek to connect, fundraise, or educate your community – get your team talking about how this dynamic platform can best serve your preparedness needs!

Tip: Please join CARD’s Facebook Fan Page and tell us how you use our tools and resources! If you post comments, we’ll be able to post and share your links across our various Social Media platforms!

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August 16th, 2010 | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment