Oakland, CA – May 25, 2011:  Everyone is invited on Thursday, May 26, 2011 (between 10am–3pm) to the Get Ready! Public Emergency Preparedness Fair held at the Oakland Coliseum (7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland; BART accessible, Coliseum Station). The fair will include raffles, gifts, trainings, vendors and demonstrations! There will also be information on volunteer opportunities as well as FREE Whooping Cough Vaccinations while supplies last.  

CARD – Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters – will be holding onsite preparedness trainings on their SKIP (Safety Kept In Place) Kits. SKIP Kits are made from inexpensive, everyday objects that can serve as powerful preparedness tools in the event of a disaster. The first 1,000 people to complete the short training will receive a FREE SKIP Kit. CARD trainings will be given in English, Spanish and ASL (American Sign Language).

“Everyone is invited to CARD’s area.  We’ll have giveaways such as Potty Posters, wallet cards, and candy. Our trainings will show people how creative they can be AND that they are more prepared than they think. This is the fun part of preparedness!” says Âna-Marie Jones, Executive Director, CARD.

This event is organized by the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD).  For more information on the Public Emergency Preparedness Fair, please contact Zerlyn Ladua at 510-208-5962or Zerlyn.ladua@acgov.org or visit www.ACPHD.org.

Other Get Ready! Preparedness Fair participants include the American Red Cross and the ACPHD iWHACK Germs program.

For info on CARD’s trainings and alternatives to traditional emergency preparedness, please contact Âna-Marie Jones at 510-451-3140 or AMJ@CARDcanhelp.org. More info and giveaways will be offered on:

www.Facebook.com/CARDcanhelp ~ http://CARDcanhelp.org/Blog ~ www.Twitter.com/CARDcanhelp

CARD was created after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake by local nonprofits to address the preparedness and response needs of agencies serving vulnerable consumers.  CARD has created an alternative curriculum and a fear-free approach to fit the cultures, structures and budgets of the nonprofit sector.

CARD’s work to prepare nonprofits and vulnerable communities is made possible by: Alameda County Public Health Department, Alameda County OES, United Way of the Bay Area, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, City of Oakland, San Francisco Foundation, and many individual nonprofit agencies.

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May 26th, 2011 | Tags: CARD, communication, community, Couch Potato Preparedness, emergency preparedness, go kit, go-kits, Planning, Preparedness, Public Health | Category: Alameda County, CARD Tools, Public Health, Useful Tools | Leave a comment

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced his intention to put a man on the moon within ten years. This call to action, and its well defined goal, united the nation and gave us some of our finest achievements. The landing wasn’t accomplished in one giant leap, but after thousands of small, well-defined steps. Make preparedness easy to accomplish by creating simple, measurable, achievable goals. Suggestions: designate places where preparedness information will be posted; mark the location of all safety supplies; and put a link on computer desktops with safety information. If you dedicate 3-5 minutes to safety and preparedness at the beginning of every staff meeting, you will be consistently moving toward your goal, building the collective wisdom of your team, and achieving many successes along the way.

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May 23rd, 2011 | Tags: Planning, Preparedness | Category: 2011, STAT | Leave a comment

Make fun, laughter, and entertainment part of your emergency preparedness repertoire and you’ll almost guarantee an increase in interest, retention, and participation from your team!

Solicit entertaining contributions from everyone. Skits, performance art, poems, songs, cartoons, crossword puzzles, jokes, riddles, magic tricks, and videos are just a few ways for people to leverage their creativity in support of your preparedness and planning efforts. Tastes vary as to what constitutes acceptable forms of humor and entertainment, so remember to set the standard for all contributions to be PG/PG13 (in language, images and tone) and culturally appropriate.

Whether or not the end result is fit for primetime, your team will have spent time thinking, planning, and being creative — all of which are valuable emergency preparedness and response activities.

Tip: Try your hand at creating a fun preparedness comic strip with this comic strip generator: http://www.comicstripgenerator.com.

Be sure to share and post your entertaining bits of preparedness on this blog!

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February 28th, 2011 | Tags: creative, entertainment, fun, Humor, Planning, team, team-building, thinking | Category: 2011, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Some people are just technophiles: they’ll happily engage in most any pursuit — so long as it involves technology. Use this taste for technology to build your readiness by giving some of these super-helpful techie activities to them. Conduct a Backup & Restore Drill – test your ability to access key files quickly from your computer backups (of course you back up!) Try accessing files stored on disks, tapes or in the cloud.

- Download emergency preparedness and productivity Apps for everyone with a Smartphones, iPads, iPods or tablets.

- Create an Emergency Jump Drive for every key position in your response team. Include checklists, staff and client rosters, Incident Command System tip sheets, media talking points – anything that will help people perform their disaster duties well.

- Empower your tech-lovers to take you to heights of preparedness and response capacity.

Tip: If you have a zealous computer/IT person on your team, be sure to share the resources from TechSoup with them!

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February 18th, 2011 | Tags: disaster, disasters, emergency preparedness, plan, Planning, Preparedness, technology prepardness | Category: 2011, STAT, STAT 5MM | Comments (1)

Hi All,

Below are some of the great highlights for the upcoming CESA2010 Conference. This is the professional Emergency Managers conference for the State of California. It’s happening September 14-17 in beautiful Monterey, California — there is still time to register! www.CESA2010.org.

As the Social Media Evangelist, I’ll be leading trainings on using social media for all aspects of emergency services. Whether you are an ‘early adopter’ or part of the ‘vocal resistance’ — the CESA2010 Social Media trainings will help you to take advantage of the social media phenomenon, do more with less time and effort, and be more confident, connected and able to communicate using these dynamic tools. A few lucky participants will win some great social media training CDs.  We will also have a CyberCafe — so you can immediately share and connect with conference participants and your colleagues back home. I’m passionate about social media and how emergency managers can use it to reach, unite and prepare our communities!

Other great things happening at CESA2010…

• Amanda Ripley, award-winning journalist and author of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disasters Strike — and Why, will be our featured keynote speaker. Among many things, you’ll learn about the 3 phases your brain goes thru in a disaster, and you’ll learn about the myth of panic. Amanda Ripley traveled the world researching this book, and this is a great opportunity to learn what really happens when people face emergencies, disasters and high-stress situations. Join us and allow this conference to transform how you share preparedness in your community.

• Jeff Burrow and Gary Watts of Valley Wealth, Inc. an SEC registered Investment Advisory Firm, will present “How Will You Deal With the Upcoming Financial Disaster?” We’ve always known about the POSSIBILITY of a financial crisis, but the PROBABILITY of it actually occurring has increased dramatically. This session will discuss the economy, the risks we all face, and how we can best prepare for the future.

• CEM/AEM Examination Preparatory Course Examination. If you are planning on becoming a Certified Emergency Manager, there isn’t a better place to do it! Join us in Monterey, surrounded by emergency managers of all levels!

• Emergency Management for Senior and Elected Officials (Pre-Conference Training): Taught by Texas A&M University, this course provides insight into their key roles in disaster operations.  Includes a tabletop exercise “Shooter on Campus” that hightlights the need for pre-event coordination with public, private and non-governmental organizations.  Only $75. Bring your entire team!

• ARkStorm: Going Where No One Has Gone Before with Anne Wein – USGS. Attendees of this session will gain critical insights on how they can prepare their organization for participating in the Golden Guardian 2011: ARkStorm Statewide Exercise.  Increase your organization’s preparedness and response for a variety of humanmade and natural disasters.

• Next Generation Communications: The Joint Information Center and New Media with Karen Terrill. An explosion has occurred in the sleepy town of Central City California. This humorous, hands-on session will bring “volunteers” from the group into a Joint Information Center (JIC) that is set up to address the crisis. The participants will simulate a few of the 21 functions of a JIC according to the NIMS model for Emergency Public Information. Lucky participants will receive a copy of the award winning Go Book.

• “The Prime Directive: Ethics and Moral Guidance for Decision Makers During Disasters” — Keynote by Dr. Harvey Kayman. Every natural and man-made catastrophe presents unique challenges to affected institutions and agencies. Finding one’s way ethically is particularly problematic. Issues of professional conduct and responsibility, of civil rights and civil liberties, and of conscience, are bound to appear. In the midst of catastrophe, hard decisions will have to be made rapidly under anxiety filled and emergency conditions.

And so much more…Register Now! www.CESA2010.org. Please also link to us on www.Twitter.com/CESA2010 and on Facebook at www.TinyUrl.com/FacebookCESA.

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August 26th, 2010 | Tags: Amanda Ripley, CESA2010, conference, disasters, Emergency, Next Generation, Planning | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

When setting 2010 preparedness goals, it’s great to follow the SMART goal model: Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, Time-bound.  But for emergency preparedness — a topic that is met with some resistance — it’s even more important to have a BHAG (pronounced “BEE-hag”) – a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.  Popularized in the best-selling book by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, a BHAG is both clear and compelling; it’s “an audacious 10-to-30-year goal to progress towards an envisioned future.”

With feedback from your team and community, create and share a positive uplifting, big picture BHAG. Ideally, all of your related SMART goals, milestones, projects, and objectives should clearly and directly help fulfill this larger, more empowering goal. Tip: Even a draft or “straw man” BHAG can help!

CARD’s BHAG: Have EVERY nonprofit prepared to prosper!

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January 11th, 2010 | Tags: empower, future, goal, objectives, plan, Planning, Preparedness, project, read | Category: 2010, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

Now is the time (when calendars are still uncrowded) to make sure planning and preparedness activities are woven into 2010.

Some tips to make your calendar a structure for your success:

• Look at last year’s calendar for recurring items, and copy them to your current calendar. Include annual preparedness conferences, monthly emergency manager’s meetings, and other events where you share your preparedness efforts.
• Weeks before Daylight Saving Time, remind yourself to create and send action steps (e.g. rotating disaster supplies) out to your community.
• Note both major events targeting the larger community and small events targeting niche audiences, and see if your preparedness offerings can be included in the program.

Successful preparedness efforts take a bit of planning, so start the year with small manageable bits of preparedness prominently threaded throughout your calendar.

~~~ Save the Date: September 14th -17th 2010,  CESA Conference, Monterey California  ~~~

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January 4th, 2010 | Tags: Calendar, Daylight Saving Time, Planning, Preparedness, reminders, supplies, supply | Category: 2010, STAT 5MM | Comments (1)

This coming year, communities across America will be bombarded with many different preparedness messages. The majority of these messages are intentionally generic, so that they can be shared nationwide. Most people, however, are much more likely to resonate with, and take action on, a more personalized and specific message delivered by a trusted messenger. Choose a preparedness action that you can passionately champion in your community throughout 2010. Make sure it’s something you have actually done and currently maintain, so that your conviction is real, your words honest, and you have actual success stories to share.

Remember: Everyone can do something that will leave them feeling safer, more confident and more prepared. Everyone. For an example, see how CARD staffer Maryanne Tracy-Baker walks the world with safety stashed in her crutches and champions this message everywhere. See “What’s Up Your Crutch?” on YouTube!

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December 21st, 2009 | Tags: confident, crutches, health, Planning, Preparedness, Safety | Category: 2009, STAT, STAT 5MM | Leave a comment

The world-famous physicist Niels Bohr was born October 7, 1885 [d. 1962].  Bohr was a senior member of the Manhattan Project and helped create the field of quantum mechanics.  In attempting to explain quantum mechanics, Bohr said that “nothing exists until it is measured.”  For years, “having a plan” was the key measurement of preparedness. Several disasters have shown that simply having a plan does not necessarily lead to successful implementation. Be ready to articulate implementation in measurable ways. Some examples of meaningful numbers: people confident they can respond; tested ways your team can communicate; backup systems tested and in place. Choose actions that make a difference for your needs.  More than the presence of a plan, the measurable, tangible aspects of implementation are often what matter most to staff, funders, media and the people you serve.

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October 6th, 2008 | Tags: measures, Planning | Category: 2008, STAT | Leave a comment