National Preparedness Month 2006 Coalition Member Newsletter
Issue 2 – August 11, 2006

In this issue:

• September Quickly Approaching
• NPM Coalition Continues to Grow
• NPM 2006 Calendar
• Coalition Tool Kit
• Working Together

September Quickly Approaching

In a little over two weeks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will officially kick-off National Preparedness Month 2006.  We hope your plans for the month are well under way.  We will reach out to you again closer to the launch regarding specifics.  In the meantime, please keep adding your events and activities to the NPM calendar (see below). 

NPM Coalition Continues to Grow

Thus far 670 national, regional, state and local organizations have joined this important effort (list at http://www.ready.gov/america/npm/index.htm) and agreed to promote emergency preparedness.  If you know of organizations that have not signed up or are interested in learning more encourage them to visit the National Preparedness Month 2006 Website at www.ready.gov.  Registration for this year’s Coalition will close on Friday, August 25 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

NPM 2006 Calendar

Please continue to submit your preparedness events to the NPM Calendar which Citizen Corps is maintaining. You can access the calendar at http://www.ready.gov/america/npm/calendar.htm or www.citizencorps.gov  There you will find a link to “register a new event.” Simply fill out the information in the fields as completely as possible and submit your event for approval.   We are monitoring the calendar for events to have DHS officials attend and feature in media outreach.

Coalition Tool Kit

The National Preparedness Month Coalition Member Tool Kit is a free resource designed to help you and your organization as you take part in this nationwide effort.  The tools will allow you to increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies and to encourage families to take action.  Each of you should have received the kit when you registered for the Coalition.  If you did not, please email us at npm@dhs.gov.

Working Together

We want to hear from all of you.  Do you have efforts you would like us to highlight?  Are you looking for other NPM Coalition Members to join you in an event?  Let us know at npm@dhs.gov.

Don’t forget your local Citizen Corps Councils is a great resource to assist you in planning NPM activities.  Find your local Council by visiting www.citizencorps.gov.  

We will continue to stay in touch with you on a regular basis to provide updates on preparations for National Preparedness Month 2006.  If you need assistance, please feel free to contact us at npm@dhs.gov or by calling Heather Blanchard or Kristin Gossel at 202-282-8010.