 |
 | ||
|  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OEM GIVES AWAY 1,000 GO BAGS TO KICK OFF 5th ANNUAL NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH More Than 50 Events Planned This Month to Highlight the Importance of Emergency Preparedness The New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM), in partnership with the New York City Citizen Corps Council, kicked off the 5th Annual National Preparedness Month today by giving away 1,000 Go Bags at a series of events aimed at raising awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies. At the events, volunteers from New York City emergency preparedness and disaster relief organizations distributed literature about preparing for emergencies at home, at work, and in school and shared their own volunteer experiences. The thousand Go Bags were given to passersby who signed up for emergency preparedness tips, emails, and classes. “Last week Hurricane Gustav reminded us just how quickly our lives can be disrupted by unforeseen emergencies,” said Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Bruno. “During National Preparedness Month we get out there in full force to remind people that taking a few minutes to prepare now can make all the difference during an emergency. And, for 1,000 New Yorkers, we’re doing some of the work.” National Preparedness Month is a month-long, nationwide campaign, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to promote emergency preparedness and encourage volunteerism. Each September, the New York City Citizen Corps Council (CCC) organizes National Preparedness Month activities throughout the city by bringing together disaster relief and other volunteer organizations to distribute information at fairs, host demonstrations, and lead preparedness presentations. This year OEM, CCC, and its partners will host more than 50 National Preparedness Month events targeting recent immigrants, youth, seniors, and other hard-to-reach populations in New York City. During the first week of September, National Preparedness Month events will focus on business preparedness. Businesses across the city will host OEM’s Ready New York presentations and OEM will send preparedness tips to businesses through CorpNet, an information sharing program with more than 1,500 subscribers. Week two’s outreach efforts will focus on New York’s immigrant communities. OEM translates all of the City’s preparedness guides and its flagship guide, Ready New York: Preparing for Emergencies in New York City, is now available in 14 languages. During week three, OEM will introduce its new Ready New York Guide for Seniors and People with Disabilities and host an event at a Manhattan senior center where OEM staff members will help seniors create personal preparedness plans that fits their individual needs. Events during the final week of National Preparedness Month will focus on preparedness for children. In 2007 OEM introduced its Ready New York for Kids guide. To date, the kids guide has been distributed to more than 1.1 million children in City schools. In addition to preparedness events, OEM has partnered with Fairway supermarkets and White Rose to place preparedness advertisements in their weekly circulars. Fairway will also run preparedness messages throughout the month on its signature digital ticker, which can be seen from The West Side Highway in upper Manhattan. Preparedness advertisements will also be placed in local newspapers and on websites. In addition to the event held in Union Square Park on September 4, National Preparedness Month kick-off celebrations were held at:
For more information about Ready New York and National Preparedness Month in New York, call 311 or visit OEM’s website at NYC.gov/oem. -30- CONTACT: Chris Gilbride, (718) 422-4888 |  |
 |
 |
|