Let's Be Red Cross Ready

With National Preparedness Month steadily approaching, I decided to take some time to talk about what it means to “Be Red Cross Ready”. Each year, the American Red Cross works with the surrounding community to ensure that people are ready for any disaster they may face; however only 7% of Americans have taken the necessary actions to prepare for disasters.

Let’s make a vow that this year, we will take the necessary steps to make sure that our families, businesses, and schools are prepared for whatever may come our way.
By following three simple steps, we can protect our families from disaster. We need to:

1) Get a Kit
2) Make a Plan
3) Be Informed.

Your kit should include the basics and should be easily accessible at home in the case of an emergency. When making your plan, have a meeting with your family and discuss several evacuation routes. Make sure you practice each route several times so that your family members will feel comfortable evacuating if necessary. Your local American Red Cross and RedCross.org can offer you plenty of information and resources. One great resource the American Red Cross offers is the Ready Rating Program. This program allows businesses and schools to do an assessment of their preparedness and learn what changes they can make in order to become more prepared each year. Visit ReadyRating.org to find out more about the program and to become a member.

Preparedness is a choice, so let’s choose to do all we can to keep our families, businesses, schools and communities safe!