September is National Preparedness Month!

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) encourages all Minnesota state departments, county agencies and response organizations to support and participate in National Preparedness Month 2010 in September. National Preparedness Month (NPM) is FEMA's annual awareness campaign to bring attention to the need for all citizens to minimize risks by preparing themselves for unexpected emergencies.

The campaign is sponsored in partnership with Citizen Corps, FEMA's grassroots organization that brings together local government, responders and community leaders to promote all-hazards emergency preparedness. Citizen Corps members serve their communities by receiving training in emergency skills and volunteering to support local emergency response, disaster relief and community safety efforts.

We hope your organization has already joined the national Ready Campaign and will help in spreading the emergency preparedness message during the month of September. To register, go to Ready.gov/National Preparedness Month 2010 <http://www.ready.gov/america/npm10/index.html> .

Once registered as a coalition member, you can download publicity and education materials and share your own ideas on how to spread the message. We encourage all organizations to use the materials to help teach staff and audiences that preparedness goes beyond flashlights, smoke detectors, dead-bolt locks and extra food in the pantry, and to communicate preparedness messages to individuals, families, schools and businesses. For more information about NPM in Minnesota, contact Brian Curtice at HSEM: brian.curtice@state.mn.us