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August 31, 2009

NYC: Fifth Annual National Preparedness Month Citywide Kickoff

September is National Preparedness Month

To kick-off a month full of activities, the New York City Citizen Corps Council has planned a citywide kickoff event where they will distribute emergency preparedness and volunteerism information, as well as, hand sanitizer to New York City residents on Wednesday, September 2nd.

This year in Times Square, the Ad Council will be joining us to kick off a national, as well as a NYC-specific, preparedness ad campaign and the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has confirmed her attendance.

As with every year they would like see volunteers from all Citizen Corps Council member agencies to spend some time volunteering at a convenient site near your home or your place of work.

The kick-off will occur at five distribution locations, one in each borough:

Event Locations:

Brooklyn: Borough Hall (Columbus Park)

Bronx: The Hub (149th Street and 3rd Avenue)

Manhattan: Times Square

Staten Island: Staten Island Ferry Terminal

Queens: Queens Library Flushing Branch (Main Street and Kissena Boulevard)

Suggested volunteer shifts are two hours long beginning at 6:00 AM and ending at 7:00 PM. They will need most of our volunteers during the morning rush, lunch, and evening rush hours. This is a fun event and a rewarding experience. Over the course of the day hundreds of volunteers from our Citizen Corps Council member agencies will staff tables at each location, hand out guides to the public, and talk about their volunteer experiences. Please note that given the prominence of the Times Square site there will be specialized instructions for that location that will come out soon.

To volunteer, please e-mail the following information about you RSVP to: citizencorps@oem.nyc.gov

  • Preferred Location (see above)

  • Languages you speak fluently

  • Hours you can work

  • Contact number

  • Volunteer/Agency affiliation

Once they receive your RSVP they will send each volunteer a confirmation of your location, as well as, information about Citizen Corps Council and Ready New York.

Each distribution location will include:

  • Several tables set up to display the CCC members' promotional material and Ready New York guides;

  • Volunteers from participating agencies handing out the Ready New York Pocket Guide and NYC CCC Volunteer Guide to commuters and the general public;

  • Giveaways of hand sanitizer;

  • Demonstrations from our member agencies;

  • And, will be open from 6:00 AM until 7:00 PM.

Contact

Herman Schaffer, MSW
Director, Community Outreach
New York City Office of Emergency Management
165 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Tel: 718-422-4821
Fax: 718-422-8451

Email: hschaffer@oem.nyc.gov

Disasters are always inclusive! Response and recovery are not, unless we plan for it! In disasters, people with disabilities continue to lose their health, independence and sometimes lives because information transfer and lessons documented over decades, are not yet uniformly learned and applied!

Posted by Nancy O'Connell at August 31, 2009 10:31 AM

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