Emergency Tip: March's Do1Thing.com Prep Task - Shelter

Do1Thing.Com's Goal for March: Practice what your family would do if they needed to evacuate or shelter-in-place.

Below is a list of things the Do1Thing team recommends you can do to achieve your goal this month.
Choose at least one, and complete it!

• Identify the best storm shelter in your home and practice getting to the shelter with your family.
• Learn how to safely shelter in place.
• Make a Go Bag for emergency sheltering.

Visit this month’s Do 1 Thing topic page for fact sheets, videos and additional resources on ensuring your family gets the correct emergency information.


Background

Do 1 Thing is a web-based, twelve-month preparedness program that focuses on a different area of emergency preparedness each month. Remember: emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.

It’s as easy as:

1. Click on this month’s topic
2. Select one of the easy “Tasks”
3. Do that one thing!

So visit http://do1thing.com/ today and get started preparing yourself, your family, and your community right now!

Please see my January 2015 post about the entire Do 1 Thing program for additional information.

Image credit: Do1Thing.Com

Note: The March emergency planning post unfortunately slipped to April. Look for the actual April article soon along with even more frequent postings in the coming months!

Emergency Tip: February's Do1Thing.com Prep Task - Water

Do1Thing.Com's Goal for February: Prepare sources of drinking water for your family if an emergency occurs.

Below is a list of things the Do1Thing team recommends you can do to achieve your goal this month.
Choose at least one, and complete it!

• Purchase and store a 72-hour supply of commercially bottled water (or more - up to two weeks).
• Bottle a 72-hour supply of water at home.
• Learn how to provide a safe supply of drinking water for your household in a disaster.

Visit this month’s Do 1 Thing topic page for fact sheets, videos and additional resources on ensuring your family gets the correct emergency information.

The LifeStraw Family 1.0 Water Purifier is one example of
a water filter that can take almost any source of fresh water
and make it drinkable.

Portable Water Filters: Another method for families during an emergency is to filter water from sources such as lakes, ponds and streams using a camping water filter (see Amazon for examples). These filters come in all forms: personal straws, hand-held pumps, and family-size models. Most filter systems will produce hundreds of gallons of drinkable water before needing to be serviced.

Background

Do 1 Thing is a web-based, twelve-month preparedness program that focuses on a different area of emergency preparedness each month. Remember: emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.

It’s as easy as:

1. Click on this month’s topic
2. Select one of the easy “Tasks”
3. Do that one thing!

So visit http://do1thing.com/ today and get started preparing yourself, your family, and your community right now!

Please see my January 2015 post about the entire Do 1 Thing program for additional information.

Image credit: Do1Thing.Com

Emergency Tip: January's Do1Thing.com Prep Task - Make A Plan

Do1Thing.Com's Goal for January: Plan ahead for emergencies that may affect your family.

Below is a list of things the Do1Thing team recommends you can do to achieve your goal this month.
Choose at least one, and complete it!

• Make a Plan : Plan what to do if you have to evacuate. 
• Make a Plan : Take steps now to prevent damage to your home in a disaster.
• Make a Plan : Learn what disasters can happen in your area and decide what you will do in a disaster.

Visit this month’s Do 1 Thing topic page for fact sheets, videos and additional resources on ensuring your family gets the correct emergency information.

Background

Do 1 Thing is a web-based, twelve-month preparedness program that focuses on a different area of emergency preparedness each month. Remember: emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.

It’s as easy as:

1. Click on this month’s topic
2. Select one of the easy “Tasks”
3. Do that one thing!

So visit http://do1thing.com/ today and get started preparing yourself, your family, and your community right now!

Please see my January 2015 post about the entire Do 1 Thing program for additional information.

Image credit: Do1Thing.Com

Emergency Tip: December's Do1Thing.com Prep Task - First Aid

Do1Thing.Com's Goal for Decmber: Make sure your family knows what to do while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Below is a list of things the Do1Thing team recommends you can do to achieve your goal this month.
Choose at least one, and complete it!

• Know what to do while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Tip: Don't be afraid to call 911 in a medical emergency. Use the speaker-phone mode so that you can help the person in need while at the same time talking to the 911 operator.
• Make or buy first aid kits for your home and car. Tip: When you buy a kit for your home or car, go through it so that you are familiar with all the contents. Don't be afraid to add items if needed. Example: in my car kit, I've added more large gauge bandages, medical tape and more gloves. In a car accident, you're going to need those more than "paper-cut-sized" bandages.
• Take training in first aid, CPR, AED, or pet first aid. Tip: The American Red Cross and many other organizations offer classes that are either free or very low cost. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training also includes first aid training.

Visit this month’s Do 1 Thing topic page for fact sheets, videos and additional resources on ensuring your family gets the correct emergency information.

Background

Do 1 Thing is a web-based, twelve-month preparedness program that focuses on a different area of emergency preparedness each month. Remember: emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.

It’s as easy as:

1. Click on this month’s topic
2. Select one of the easy “Tasks”
3. Do that one thing!

So visit http://do1thing.com/ today and get started preparing yourself, your family, and your community right now!

Please see my January 2015 post about the entire Do 1 Thing program for additional information.

Image credit: Do1Thing.Com

Emergency Tip: November's Do1Thing.com Prep Task - Emergency Supplies

Do1Thing.Com's Goal for November: Make sure your family has the important items that it needs when leaving your home in a disaster.

Below is a list of things the Do1Thing team recommends you can do to achieve your goal this month.
Choose at least one, and complete it!

• Gather your emergency supplies in an accessible place.
• Create an emergency supply kit for your pet, your car, and your workplace or school.
• Stash some cash in case ATMs and credit card machines are not usable in a disaster. 

Visit this month’s Do 1 Thing topic page for fact sheets, videos and additional resources on ensuring your family gets the correct emergency information.

Background

Do 1 Thing is a web-based, twelve-month preparedness program that focuses on a different area of emergency preparedness each month. Remember: emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.

It’s as easy as:

1. Click on this month’s topic
2. Select one of the easy “Tasks”
3. Do that one thing!

So visit http://do1thing.com/ today and get started preparing yourself, your family, and your community right now!

Please see my January 2015 post about the entire Do 1 Thing program for additional information.

Image credit: Do1Thing.Com

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) - Learn What You Can Do to Help Keep Our Internet Secure

National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) is every October and is a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. 2015 marks the 12th year of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

This year also marks the fifth anniversary of the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. campaign. NCSAM 2015 will highlight the overall message of STOP. THINK. CONNECT. plus the major concepts: “Keep a Clean Machine,” “Protect Your Personal Information,” “Connect with Care,” “Be Web Wise” and “Be a Good Online Citizen.”

Weekly Themes
NCSAM focuses on a different cybersecurity issue for each week in October.

• Week 1: October 1-2 (Materials)
  Five Years of STOP. THINK. CONNECT. – Best Practices for All Digital Citizens
   
• Week 2: October 5-9 (Materials)
  Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity at Work
   
• Week 3: October 12-16 (Materials)
  Connected Communities and Families: Staying Protected While We Are Always Connected
   
• Week 4: October 19-23 
  Your Evolving Digital Life
   
• Week 5: October 26-30Building the Next Generation of Cyber Professionals

Remember, we are all responsible for our cyber security. Visit www.staysafeonline.org/ and their blog @ www.staysafeonline.org/blog/ to learn how you can help your family, community, and business stay safer online.


Image credit: www.staysafeonline.org

Emergency Tip: October's Do1Thing.com Prep Task - Power

Do1Thing.Com's Goal for October: Make sure your family is able to safely meet its basic needs during an electrical outage.

Below is a list of things the Do1Thing team recommends you can do to achieve your goal this month.
Choose at least one, and complete it!

• Have flashlights ready in an easily accessible place and check batteries in flashlights and radios.
• Acquire and learn how to safely use a portable generator.
• Create a power outage plan and decide what you can do before, during and after a power outage to minimize the effect on your household.

Visit this month’s Do 1 Thing topic page for fact sheets, videos and additional resources on ensuring your family gets the correct emergency information.

Background

Do 1 Thing is a web-based, twelve-month preparedness program that focuses on a different area of emergency preparedness each month. Remember: emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.

It’s as easy as:

1. Click on this month’s topic
2. Select one of the easy “Tasks”
3. Do that one thing!

So visit http://do1thing.com/ today and get started preparing yourself, your family, and your community right now!

Please see my January 2015 post about the entire Do 1 Thing program for additional information.

Image credit: Do1Thing.Com