Start a Conversation: National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month — a good time to start a conversation about preparing for disasters or emergencies and ways to keep our families and communities safe. In fact, “Start a Conversation” is the theme of this year’s annual campaign designed to help us do just that. 

Conversations about what will happen when the unexpected comes our way can be difficult. Whether it’s about planning our future legacy or for disasters like we’ve experienced over the past several years, being prepared means discussing these realities before they occur.

I’m currently in the process of helping develop a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for the Foundation, and it has sparked many of these difficult conversations. Our mission through this is to be ready to continue serving our community in times of distress, and we can’t do that without a plan.

Considering the almost unimaginable has forced us to look more deeply at what is at our core, and what we need to do now to determine how we are able to stand up next to, and for, our neighbors when the going gets tough. It’s an intense but meaningful process and one that is strengthening us as an organization. 

Through this exercise, we are also highly encouraged to “get our own house in order” by creating disaster plans for our families. United Rescue Alliance (URA) has been instrumental in assisting us at the Foundation as we follow FEMA guidelines to create our continuity plan, and they’ve provided resources for family readiness as well. 

URA also offers Community Emergency Readiness Training (CERT) locally to teach skills and provide tools to ensure we can help ourselves and our families when disaster strikes, so we can then be available to aid our community. After participating in this training, I was determined to stock our workplace with an emergency supply store that would make ready.gov proud. It’s an ongoing task, but one we can now check off our list every six months as we maintain it.  

I’m grateful to be part of an organization that encourages and acts on planning and preparing for the future. For our legacies, for the unimaginable, for the community we love. I hope you’ll be encouraged to do the same and start this conversation with those you care about most.

— by Kassidy Nygaard, CFA community grants manager