2016 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce that the application period for the 2016 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is open. The awards highlight innovative local practices and achievements by individuals and organizations that made outstanding contributions toward making their communities safer, better prepared, and more resilient.

Emergency management is most effective when the entire community is engaged and involved. Everyone, including faith-based organizations, voluntary agencies, the private sector, tribal organizations, youth, people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, and older adults 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 Champions
  • Awareness to Action
  • Technological Innovation
  • Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness
  • Preparing the Whole Community
  • Outstanding Inclusive Initiatives in Emergency Management (new category)
  • Outstanding Private Sector Initiatives (new category)
  • Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives
  • Outstanding Citizen Corps Partner Program
  • America’s PrepareAthon! in Action (new category)

Winners will be announced in the fall of 2016 and will be invited as FEMA’s honored guests at a recognition ceremony. The winner of the Preparing the Whole Community category will receive the John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award.

To be considered for this year’s awards, all submissions must be received by March 28, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. EDT and must feature program activities taking place between January 1, 2015, and March 28, 2016. Applications should be submitted to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov.

More information about the awards is available at ready.gov/preparedness-awards.

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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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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2016 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

See the original article here – 

2015 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

2014 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 2014 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is now 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.

To be considered for this year’s awards, all submissions must be received by May 30, 2014, at 11:59 P.M. EST and must feature program activities taking place between January 1, 2013, and May 30, 2014.

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 State Citizen Corps Initiatives
  • Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Initiatives
  • Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) in Action
  • Community Preparedness Heroes
  • Outstanding Youth Preparedness Initiatives
  • Awareness to Action
  • Survivor Empowerment and Integration
  • Preparing the Whole Community
  • Technological Innovation

Winners will be announced in fall 2014 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.

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.

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. Applications should be submitted to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov and are due by May 30.

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Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications. 

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.

Originally posted here:

2014 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

El Centro de Recuperación por Desastres del condado de Larimer cerrará sus puertas

DENVER – El Centro de Recuperación por Desastre (DRC, por sus siglas en inglés) del condado de Larimer cerrará permanentemente a las 3 p.m., hora de la Montaña, el miércoles 27 de noviembre.

CONDADO DE LARIMER 

Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology

815 14th St. SW.

Loveland, CO 80537

Los DRC son operados por la Oficina de Colorado de la Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias (FEMA, por sus siglas en inglés) en asocio con la Agencia Federal para el Desarrollo de la Pequeña Empresa de EE.UU. (SBA, por sus siglas en inglés), los gobiernos locales y de los condados.

Para encontrar el DRC más cercano a usted visite el sitio fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers

Los sobrevivientes con pérdidas por las tormentas, inundaciones, derrumbes y deslizamientos ahorrarán tiempo al inscribirse para recibir ayuda con FEMA antes de ir a los DRC.

Inscríbase con FEMA por teléfono, 800-621-3362, de 5 a.m. a 8 p.m., hora de la Montaña, los siete días de la semana.  Hay operadores multilingües disponibles en la línea de ayuda de FEMA. Escoja la opción 2 para español y la opción 3 para otros idiomas. Las personas que tengan problemas auditivos, sean sordas o que tengan una discapacidad del habla pueden llamar al (TTY) 800-462-7585; si usa el 711 o el Servicio de retransmisión de video (VRS, por sus siglas en inglés), llame al 800-621-3362.

Inscríbase en línea en:  DisasterAssistance.gov o mediante un dispositivo habilitado para navegar en la red, una tableta o un teléfono inteligente: escriba m.fema.gov en el navegador.

Link: 

El Centro de Recuperación por Desastres del condado de Larimer cerrará sus puertas

Iowa Welcomes 230 FEMA Corps Members as They Begin Ten Months of Service Assisting Disaster Survivors

VINTON, Iowa – Two-hundred thirty young adults from across the nation will be sworn in as members of FEMA Corps at an induction ceremony in Iowa today, providing a boost to the nation’s ability to assist disaster survivors while expanding career opportunities for young people.

FEMA Corps is an innovative partnership between two federal agencies that combines the disaster expertise of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with the service leadership of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and AmeriCorps.

Following a record-breaking year for federally declared disasters in 2011, FEMA Corps was created to enhance the nation’s disaster response and recovery capacity, increase the reliability of the disaster workforce, and provide a pathway for young people to enter the emergency management profession.

Established as a new unit within the existing AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), FEMA Corps engages young adults ages 18 to 24 to provide ten months of full-time service on disaster response and recovery projects. 

The 230 FEMA Corps members being inducted today at AmeriCorps NCCC’s Vinton campus join a similar-sized class sworn in two weeks ago in Vicksburg, Miss., making for an initial corps size of 460 members.

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, and CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer, will participate in today’s induction ceremony at the AmeriCorps NCCC campus in Vinton to thank members for their commitment and challenge them for the important work ahead.

“In August of 2008, I had the honor of addressing the very first class of NCCC members at what was then the brand-new Vinton campus.  That spring and summer, Iowa had been hit by relentless downpours, floods of biblical proportions, and disastrous tornadoes.  To have that influx of NCCC members, at that time of dire need, was truly a godsend,” said Harkin, who chairs the Senate appropriations panel that funds AmeriCorps and was integral in bringing NCCC to Iowa.  “Serving others and giving back to our communities are some of the most important things we can do as American citizens.  I commend each member of this new class today and I thank them for their service.”

“When I visit communities devastated by disasters like Joplin, Mo., I always find members of AmeriCorps lending a helping hand to survivors,” said Serino. “Today’s inductees are pioneers – combining the exceptional record of citizen service at AmeriCorps NCCC with FEMA’s specialized mission of supporting survivors with their recovery after a disaster. I commend and thank every member of the inaugural class of FEMA Corps for their dedication to helping communities in need.”

“I commend you for answering the call to serve and making a difference for people and communities in need,” said Spencer.  “As members of the first FEMA Corps class, you are writing a new chapter in the history of national service. You will bring much-needed hope and assistance to disasters survivors at their time of greatest need. As you help others, this year will help you – giving you skills, expanding your opportunities, and setting you on a lifelong path of service to others.”

Today’s induction ceremony marked the end of one month of AmeriCorps NCCC training and the start of FEMA position-specific training. After completing training, members will be deployed to their first assignments, which can range from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovery centers to sharing disaster response and mitigation information with the public.

Some teams are expected to be deployed to the Gulf Coast to respond to recent hurricanes and flooding.  FEMA Corps will supplement FEMA’s existing Reservist workforce in assisting citizens and communities who have been impacted by disasters.

After completing 1,700 hour of service, FEMA Corps members will receive a $5,550 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay for tuition or pay student loans.  Members will gain significant training and experience in disaster services that can serve as a pathway to employment in the emergency management profession.

FEMA Corps members will be based out of five AmeriCorps NCCC campuses across the country: Sacramento, CA; Denver, CO; Vinton, IA; Perry Point, MD; and, Vicksburg, MS. 

To learn more about FEMA Corps or to apply (individuals aged 18-24), visit AmeriCorps website http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/nccc.asp or FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov.

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.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than four  million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and other programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

 

This article is from:

Iowa Welcomes 230 FEMA Corps Members as They Begin Ten Months of Service Assisting Disaster Survivors

FEMA Announces 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge

WASHINGTON — Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that the application period is open for a new funding opportunity to build local resilience, through a Whole Community approach, in communities across America: the Community Resilience Innovation Challenge.

Though National Preparedness Month comes to a close at the end of September, FEMA and its partners know that preparedness must continue in communities year-round. This new opportunity is designed to continue to move community preparedness forward and assist local areas in building and revitalizing community-based partnerships to advance the nation’s resilience to disasters.

“The best resiliency ideas originate in our states and communities – not from Washington, DC,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “The goal of this program is to empower communities to collaborate and develop innovative ways to effectively respond to disasters.”

The opportunity is provided through the Rockefeller Foundation and FEMA and will be administered by the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation who will act as a third-party intermediary to encourage local communities to engage in creative activities that enhance disaster resilience. Funding levels will range, with a maximum award of $35,000, and applications are open to most local, state, and tribal agencies and governments; business entities; associations; organizations and groups. Submissions will be accepted through October 26.

Key assessment areas for the awards will be the applicants’ demonstration that their approach to community resilience is innovative, collaborative with community stakeholders, sustainable, repeatable—in that the approach enables other communities to replicate their successful outcomes—and  beneficial to the community in measurable ways. 

FEMA recognizes that a government-centric approach to disaster management is insufficient to meet the challenges posed by a catastrophic incident. To meet our Nation’s preparedness goals, the Whole Community must be actively involved in all phases of the preparedness, response, and recovery cycle. These awards are designed to invest in and enhance the Whole Community effort.

Additional information on the Challenge program criteria and application process can be found at www.fema.gov and www.ResilienceChallenge.org.  

Follow FEMA online at http://blog.fema.gov, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.  The social media links provided are for reference only. 

FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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.

View the original here: 

FEMA Announces 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge

Nation’s First FEMA Corps Members Sworn In to Begin Disaster Response Service

VICKSBURG, Miss.– A historic new collaboration between two federal agencies to strengthen the nation’s disaster response capabilities was launched today as the nation’s first 240 FEMA Corps members were sworn into service at an induction ceremony in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

FEMA Corps is an innovative partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to enhance disaster response and recovery capacity while expanding career opportunities for young people.

Established as a new unit within the existing AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), FEMA Corps engages young adults ages 18 to 24 to provide ten months of full-time service on disaster response and recovery projects.  Members will be deployed to assignments ranging from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovery centers to sharing disaster response and mitigation information with the public.

At today’s induction ceremony, members of the inaugural FEMA Corps class took the AmeriCorps pledge to “get things done for America” and heard from agency leaders about the important work that lies ahead.  FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino and CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer were on hand to welcome the members and thank them for their commitment to service.

“When I visit communities devastated by disasters like Joplin, Mo., I always find members of AmeriCorps lending a helping hand to survivors,” said Serino. “Today’s inductees are taking part in an exciting new pursuit — combining the exceptional record of citizen service at AmeriCorps NCCC with FEMA’s specialized mission of supporting survivors with their recovery after a disaster. I commend and thank every member of the inaugural class of FEMA Corps for their dedication to helping communities in need.”

“I commend you for answering the call to serve and making a difference for people and communities in need,” said Spencer.  “As the nation’s very first FEMA Corps members, you are helping write a new chapter in the history of national service.  With your training, backed by your team, and inspired by your passion, you will bring much-needed hope and assistance to disasters survivors. As you help others, this year will help you – giving you skills, expanding your opportunities, and setting you on a lifelong path of service to others.”

Today’s induction ceremony marked the end of one month of AmeriCorps NCCC training and the start of FEMA position-specific training. After completing training this month, members will be deployed to their first assignments. FEMA Corps will supplement FEMA’s existing Reservist workforce in assisting citizens and communities who have been impacted by disasters.

After completing 1,700 hour of service, FEMA Corps members will receive a $5,550 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay for tuition or pay student loans.  Members will gain significant training and experience in disaster services that can serve as a pathway to employment in the emergency management profession.

FEMA Corps members will be based out of five AmeriCorps NCCC campuses across the country: Sacramento, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Vinton, Iowa; Perry Point, Md.; and, Vicksburg, Miss.  The program will engage 1,600 members annually when fully operational next year.

To learn more about FEMA Corps or to apply (individuals aged 18-24), visit AmeriCorps website www.americorps.gov/about/programs/nccc.asp or FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov.

To view photos from the ceremony, visit the following links:

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.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Social Innovation Fund, and other programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

 

Original post:  

Nation’s First FEMA Corps Members Sworn In to Begin Disaster Response Service