2015 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce that the application period for the 2015 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is open.

The awards highlight innovative local practices and achievements by recognizing individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions toward making their communities safer, stronger, better prepared, and more resilient.

Emergency management is most effective when the whole community is engaged and involved. Faith-based organizations, voluntary agencies, the private sector, tribal organizations, youth, older adults, people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, and all individual citizens can make a difference in their communities before, during, and after disasters.

FEMA will review all entries and select the finalists. A distinguished panel of representatives from the emergency management community will then select winners in each of the following categories:

• Outstanding Citizen Corps Council 
• Community Preparedness Heroes
• Awareness to Action
• Technological Innovation
• Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness
• Preparing the Whole Community
• Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives
• Outstanding Citizen Corps Partner Program
• Excellence in Volunteer Sustainability

Winners will be announced in the fall of 2015 and will be FEMA’s honored guests at a community preparedness roundtable event. The winner of the Preparing the Whole Community category will receive the John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award.

These awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the work an individual or organization has done to build a more resilient nation. More information about the awards is available at http://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps/citizen-corps-awards.

To be considered for this year’s awards, all submissions must be received by April 10, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. EST and must feature program activities taking place between January 1, 2014, and April 10, 2015. Applications should be submitted to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

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