FEMA Announces 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge Recipients

WASHINGTON — Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce the selection of 30 recipients to receive funding under the FEMA 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge program.  The program focuses on building local community resilience to man-made and natural disasters, with an emphasis on innovation, collaboration with community stakeholders, sustainability, repeatability and measurable benefits to the community.

FEMA knows that preparedness is a process that requires continued focus year-round. This year’s award recipients are recognized for programs 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 from our states and tribal nations,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “The goal of this effort is to further empower communities to collaborate and develop innovative approaches to effectively respond to disasters.”

The program is being funded by The Rockefeller Foundation and administered by the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation who acted as a third-party intermediary to encourage local communities to engage in creative activities that enhance disaster resilience. Funding levels ranged to a maximum award level of $35,000, and applications were open to most local, state, and tribal agencies and governments; business entities; associations; organizations and groups.

“We live in a time of unpredictable shocks and chronic stresses, from climate change to natural or manmade disasters, and helping local communities become more resilient to these disruptions is more important than ever. Yet we’ve also seen that potential solutions to meet the needs of a community are often best surfaced by those who live with the stresses, and perhaps see them from a different perspective,” said Dr. Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation. “The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to helping people prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from disruptions, and is proud to support this program and the innovative efforts of local residents to build resilience in communities across the United States.”

Over 1,900 applications were received across the country. FEMA is grateful to all applicants for their dedication and commitment to building community resilience. 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.

As we applaud the award winners, we also encourage all applicants to remain vigilant in their commitment to their programs and supporting community resilience.

The following is a list of the FEMA 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge award recipients: 

 

FEMA Region 1

Collaborating for Cape Cods Coastal Resiliency
Waquoit Bay Reserve Foundation – Waquoit, MA

Regional Flooding Risk Assessment and Community Rating System Feasibility Study
Greater Bridgeport Regional Council – Bridgeport, CT

 

FEMA Region 2

Call 2 Action Campaign
Rockaway Waterfront Alliance – Far Rockaway, NY

Comprehensive Community Needs Follow Up and Outreach
Schoharie Area Long Term, Inc. – Schoharie, NY

Farm Disaster Preparation Certificate
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County – Canandaigua, NY

Lake George Water Quality Awareness Committees for Community Resilience
The Fund for Lake George – Lake George, NY

 

FEMA Region 3

Community Resilience Following a Nuclear Detonation in Washington DC
Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) – Laurel, MD

Community Resilience through Maximizing Local Supply Chain Capacity
Arlington Office of Emergency Management – Arlington, VA

Dynamic Decision Support for Managing Regional Resources
Center for Disaster Management, University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh, PA

 

FEMA Region 4

Purchase of Garden Area and Cannery
Harvest of the Heart Garden, Inc. – Madison, GA

A Network of Emergency Power in Seymour
Volunteer Fire Department of Seymour – Seymour, TN

 

FEMA Region 5

Countywide Faith Based Community Response
Williamson County Emergency Management Agency – Marion, IL

Trenton Kids to the Rescue
Trenton Police/Emergency Management Service – Trenton, IN

Comprehensive Community Emergency Notification Plan
Indiana Emergency Notification Committee – City of Monticello, IN

Disaster Preparedness:  Surviving Disasters Despite Communication Barriers and Breakdowns Wisconsin Association of the Deaf – Delavan, WI

 

FEMA Region 6

Safe Harbor Master Plan for Vermillion Bay, Louisiana
Twin Parish Port District -Louisiana Sea Grant – Baton Rouge, LA

Greater New Orleans Resiliency Resource Guide
Greater New Orleans Development Foundation – New Orleans, LA

 

FEMA Region 7

Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network
The Salvation Army – Kansas City, MO

Risk Watch Program
Tama County Emergency Management Agency – Toledo, IA

Services Expansion
Delaware County Disaster Recovery Committee – Manchester, IA

Faith Based Planning and Preparedness Initiative
St. Charles County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (SCCCOAD) for Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service – St. Charles, MO

 

FEMA Region 8

Lightning Location and Analysis System
Crystal Park Homeowners Association – Manitou Springs, CO

Situation Awareness Environment and Knowledge Exchange Portal
Western Cyber Exchange, Rocky Mountain (WCX) – Colorado Springs, CO

Teton County Emergency Response Support Team
Teton County – Choteau, MT

 

FEMA Region 9

Special Needs Population and Home Bound Patients Registry
American Samoa Department of Health – Pago Pago, American Samoa

Roadmap to Preparedness
United Policyholders – San Francisco, CA

Tribal Emergency Response Crossing Boarders Coordination Project
Smith River Rancheria – Smith River, CA

Hawaii Emergency Preparedness System of Support (HiPSS)
University of Hawaii, Office of Research Services – Honolulu, HI

 

FEMA Region 10

Radio in a Box
KRBD Community Radio – Rainbird Community Broadcast – Ketchikan, AK

Emergency Hubs at P-Patch Community Gardens
Seattle Office of Emergency Management – Seattle, WA

 

Additional information on the Challenge program and a detailed summary of each recipient’s project 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.

About FEMA:

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.

About The Rockefeller Foundation:

The Rockefeller Foundation aims to achieve equitable growth by expanding opportunity for more people in more places worldwide, and to build resilience by helping them prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. Throughout its 100 year history, The Rockefeller Foundation has enhanced the impact of innovative thinkers and actors working to change the world by providing the resources, networks, convening power, and technologies to move them from idea to impact. In today’s dynamic and interconnected world, The Rockefeller Foundation has a unique ability to address the emerging challenges facing humankind through innovation, intervention and influence in order to shape agendas and inform decision-making. Please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org for more information.

About LAEPF:

The Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation (LAEPF) is a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization focused on community stakeholder collaboration and emergency preparedness.  LAEPF works to create partnerships, identify resources and implement programs addressing the challenges of man-made and natural disasters. LAEPF supports the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Division on a variety of programs including the coordination of activities in the Business Operations Center (BOC) with participation from business, government, academic, faith based, and non-profit sectors. 

LAEPF is committed to building community resilience and very pleased to be supporting the application, selection, and implementation process for the FEMA 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Program. LAEPF congratulates the program winners and all applicants on their dedication to community resilience throughout the United States.        

Link to article: 

FEMA Announces 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge Recipients

New Yorkers honored as White House Hurricane Sandy “Champions of Change”

NEW YORK – Eight New Yorkers were honored Wednesday by the White House as Hurricane Sandy “Champions of Change.”

The White House recognized the individuals for their work in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy. These hidden heroes implemented innovative, collaborative solutions to meet the unique needs of communities and neighborhoods as they worked to rebuild after the devastating effects of this disaster.

“As soon as a disaster hits, we see citizens come together to help those in need,” said Paulette Aniskoff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement. “Time and again, we have seen the courage and heroism of first responders, organizations and ordinary people in providing relief, recovery and care, and these Hurricane Sandy Champions of Change are no exception.”

Those honored were:

Amanda “Mandy” Bickerstaff, UWSLoves (New York, NY)

Mandy Bickerstaff is a Program Director for Do Your Part, a nonprofit organization that supports disaster relief and long-term recovery. After Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, Bickerstaff volunteered with the Red Cross and saw how important good food made with love was in times of disaster. She co-founded UWSLoves, which prepared over 1,500 hot meals and more than 3,000 sandwiches for those in need on the Lower East Side, Rockaway, Coney Island and Red Hook. During this time, Bickerstaff also compiled a cookbook of recipes and stories from the relief effort to support continued fundraising. She continues to work with relief organizations around the New York and New Jersey areas, coordinating fundraisers, large donations and volunteers. Her grandparents are her inspiration, instilling in her the importance of public service and dedication to those in need.

Ariel Creamer, Survivors Silver Lining (Queens, NY)

After evacuating her home during Hurricane Sandy, fourteen-year-old Rockaway resident Ariel Creamer founded the organization Survivors Silver Lining, which matches donors with Hurricane Sandy survivors. The mission of the organization is to help children and families replace items lost in the storm and rebuild their lives. Creamer has worked with other hurricane relief organizations to bring and distribute supplies to the Rockaways. Her hope is to continue her work and to bring awareness that the need in the Rockaways is far from over.

Erin Corcoran Daly, Operation Breezy Gut and Pump (Queens, NY)

Erin Daly sprang into action after Hurricane Sandy struck her hometown of Breezy Point. Daly, a Florida state prosecutor, immediately began her relief efforts by collecting donations of generators, sump pumps, tools, food and water, and arrived at the disaster zone with a truckload full of supplies and gasoline. The next day, Daly and off-duty FDNY firefighter Kevin Adams pitched a tent in a field and offered to pump and gut houses for free. Operation Breezy Gut and Pump was born. Kevin recruited fellow FDNY member Phil Pillet, and soon volunteers began showing up by the hundreds. Over the next 36 days, Daly and her crew worked tirelessly day and night, coordinating the integration of federal, state and local resources and matching victims with volunteer groups and relief organizations. Thanks to Operation Gut and Pump’s efforts, over 600 homes in Breezy Point were pumped, gutted and cleaned out free of charge.

Mike “Loco” Hoffman, Boots on the Ground (Staten Island, NY)

His community devastated after Hurricane Sandy, Mike “Loco” Hoffman has contributed to disaster relief and recovery every day since the storm struck. From rescuing stranded and frightened survivors to providing household needs, heaters and generators to gutting and rebuilding homes, Hoffman has been a one-man powerhouse of recovery. He even brought Christmas gifts and cheer to residents by dressing as Santa Claus and driving a decorated truck playing Christmas music through the streets of storm-ravaged neighborhoods. A lifelong resident of Staten Island, Hoffman founded Boots on the Ground Staten Island to put his local knowledge to use and serve as a resource for the thousands of volunteers who arrived to the area. In this way, he is assisting with the formation of an organized at-the-ready volunteer response network as a resource for future disaster victims.

Adam Marlatt, Global DIRT: Disaster Immediate Response Team (New York, NY)

Adam Marlatt is a Marine Reserve infantry sergeant and the founder of Global Disaster Immediate Response Team (DIRT). Using the skills he learned on the battlefield, on a District Stability Team with the U.S. State Department, and with his local volunteer fire department, Marlatt leads his team into the immediate aftermath of disasters to provide technical solutions, medical assistance and coordination support. Founded after the Haiti earthquake of 2010, Global DIRT has deployed to Haiti, Pakistan, New Zealand, Japan and the tri-state area after Hurricane Sandy.

Walter Meyer, Power Rockaway Resilience (Brooklyn, NY)

Together with a group of designers, sustainability experts, and solar engineers, Walter Meyer, an urban designer based in Brooklyn, New York, helped form the community-based organization “Power Rockaways Resilience.” Days after Hurricane Sandy, while gas generators sat idle due to a fuel shortage, the group began delivering hand-built, shopping-cart-sized solar generators to the hardest-hit blocks of the Rockaway peninsula, a barrier island off New York City that bore the brunt of a 14-foot tidal surge topped by three-story-high waves. This small-scale initial effort grew, and with the help of a nationwide fundraising campaign, Power Rockaways Resilience oversaw the widespread installation of large-scale solar generators at relief centers and volunteer hubs. The use of solar power to keep lights shining and helping hands working throughout the darkest days of the storm has inspired peninsula-wide interest in alternative energy technologies. Power Rockaways Resilience is still on the ground connecting solar suppliers and installers with Rockaway businesses and residents seeking to rebuild for a more sustainable, resilient future.

Carolina Salguero, PortSide NewYork (Brooklyn, NY)

PortSide NewYork is a nonprofit in Red Hook, Brooklyn, focused on waterfront issues. Since 2005, the organization has operated from the Mary A. Whalen, an oil tanker on the National Register of Historic Places. After protecting the ship during Hurricane Sandy, they came ashore to help the community of Red Hook. Led by founder Carolina Salguero, PortSide created an aid station that evolved to provide services in response to emerging needs. They provided computer equipment to enable people to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, organized the work of electrician Danny Schneider who donated his services for free, and set up free legal clinics and a small business recovery center. Based on what they learned, they are now planning programs for Red Hook and the New York City government.

Marcie Allen Van Mol, Beach 119th Street Angels (New York, NY)

Marcie Allen is the president of MAC Presents, a New York City-based sponsorship and fulfillment agency. After Hurricane Sandy, Marcie raised over $100,000 in donations and supplies for families on Beach 119th Street in Rockaway Beach, New York. Allen directed the short documentary film Beach 119 about the families of one block in Rockaway and their recovery.

To learn more about the White House Champions of Change program and nominate a Champion, visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

Continue reading here – 

New Yorkers honored as White House Hurricane Sandy “Champions of Change”