Our Blog and Facebook Page are a Ready.gov Coalition Partner are you?

Neighbors Helping Neighbors has been contacted by the FEMA Office of External Affairs to help share the "Emergency Preparedness" message on our blog for September.

"Greetings:

I am writing to see if I can interest your blog in a topic for September – emergency preparedness.

National Preparedness Month (NPM), sponsored by FEMA’s Ready Campaign, is a national campaign during the month of September to increase emergency preparedness across the U.S. I am currently reaching out to emergency and disaster-related blogs to ask for help in encouraging Americans to take steps toward preparedness. Slightly more than half of Americans say they have taken steps toward preparedness, and your blog would be a great place to encourage the rest to get prepared.

You can find information about the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month at Ready.gov, and I can provide you with additional information or answer any of your questions. This is such an important, yet often forgotten task, not just during National Preparedness Month, but year-round. We would be delighted if your blog would consider supporting preparedness.

Thank you in advance for your support,

... on behalf of
The Ready Campaign
Office of External Affairs
Federal Emergency Management Agency
npm@dhs.gov"

Readers of our blog, who have their own blog and facebook page, such as http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps should also spread this message of "Emergency Preparedness".

Did Someone Say FREE Advertising?

So how can we expand outreach when our budgets are being cut? Did you know that many of the local papers offer free advertising for non-profit groups!

For example, the Washington Post Local Living Section:

"To submit an item E-mail fxliving@washpost.com, Mail: Volunteers, Fairfax Living, The Washington Post, 4020 University Dr., Suite 220, Fairfax, Va. 22030

Details: Items, published weekly on a space-available basis, are accepted from nonprofit groups."

To view comments on this, visit http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps

Large Scale CERT

CERT in Fairfax County is no small feet, but neither is a major disaster.

Over 50 students participated in a CERT Final Exercise this past weekend. There were over 100 "victims" who also were volunteers in the community.

The final exercise provided extensive hands-on training to the students at the old Lorton Prison Grounds and increased awareness for all the "victims". This was the first time the final exercise was not held at the fire academy.

Citizen Corps Releases New CERT Videos

Did you know that real CERT Volunteers were used in the recently released CERT videos?

Check out the videos filmed in the National Capital Region at:

http://citizencorps.gov/cert/videos/

And join the discussion with other volunteers on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/citizencorps

Now Easier To Find on Facebook

Our page can now be found on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/citizencorps

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Volunteers Sharing With Volunteers

Local CERT Helps with Regional Rail Hostage Disaster Exercise

"Members of Fairfax County CERT participated in a disaster drill conducted by the Virginia Railway Express. The premise of this disaster exercise was a train crash; with an active shooter taking hostages aboard one of the rail cars.

This drill involved numerous federal law enforcement entities, along with Fairfax County fire and rescue department assets. It was an AWESOME disaster exercise, folks." (Reprinted from Fairfax County CERT Facebook)

Not Homeless But Need Some Help From Your Neighbors

Well not everyone is out on the streets, but nonetheless, finding a job might be difficult.

The following article talks about how people are reaching out to people in a religious organization or other group to help them find a job.

It's about the network and who best to turn to? The neighbors we see on a regular basis.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/26/news/economy/hired_butler/index.htm?postversion=2009022613

Red Cross Regional Disaster Coordination Center (RDCC) Open House

The following message was released on Facebook. Please consider joining us for this open house to see the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area RDCC in action for inauguration.

"American Red Cross' Celebrity Cabinet Member Leeza Gibbons Visits National Capital Area

American Red Cross of the National Capital Area welcomes American Red Cross’ Celebrity Cabinet member Leeza Gibbons to the Chapter Headquarters’ Regional Disaster Coordination Center (RDCC) on Monday, January 19, 2009 between 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Please RSVP by sending an email to moringn@redcrossnca.org (Subject “RSVP”) by 10 a.m. Sunday, January 18, 2009.

For more information, go to our Events page or click on this link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=43643917295#/event.php?eid=43643917295"

American Red Cross of The National Capital Area Assists With The 2009 56th Presidential Inauguration

The American Red Cross of the National Capital Area has a very unique role in this community and country in that we partner with government agencies, non-profit partners and private organizations in supporting major events such as the inauguration. The DC Government requested the Red Cross' assistance to serve in a public safety capacity for the 2009 56th Presidential Inauguration. The Red Cross does not endorse political parties or candidates, however we maintain our mission in helping people regardless of their political, religious or cultural background. American Red Cross has a long-standing history partnering with public safety officials during large-scale events, and has been supporting presidential inaugurations since 1909.

For the Presidential Inauguration activities, the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area is leading and coordinating the involvement of the four other Red Cross chapters in the National Capital Region.

The American Red Cross of the National Capital Area serves as the Regional Chapter for the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region, which consists of five Red Cross chapters in Alexandria, Arlington County, Loudoun County, Prince William and the National Capital Area, which includes District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Prince George's County and cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.

Visit our website for the latest news, visitor resources and learn more about how the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region is assisting with the 2009 56th Presidential Inauguration: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.redcrossnca.org%2FEvents%2FInauguration.php

How About A FREE Hot Coffee To Keep You Warm?

"What if you gave 5 hours to help your community?

What if we all did?

Your small commitment could add up to something BIG.

From January 21, 2009 through January 25, 2009, when you pledge 5 hours of volunteer time, Starbucks will salute you with a free Tall brewed cup of coffee in participating U.S. Starbucks stores.

Not valid at airports or Barnes & Noble locations.

YOU IN?

Visit http://pledge5.starbucks.com to learn more.

Not sure what to do with your 5 hours?

You could:
- support a local food bank
- provide skills to a nonprofit
- clean up your community
- walk or run for a cause
- mentor a child or teen
- help a local family in need" (Source: Facebook Event).

A Facebook Chance To Win Tickets to Official Youth Inaugural Ball

"Are you between the ages of 18 and 35 and a facebook user?

Would you like to go the Official Youth Inaugural Ball in Washington DC on Tuesday, January 20th, at the Washington & Towers, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington D.C.?

We thought so and we want to give one of you two tickets!

Here's how you can win: The person who is responsible for the most Declaration of Service signatures on facebook between right now and 5:00 pm on Sunday, January 18th, gets the tix! We can't offer travel or lodging, but these tickets are the hottest tickets in town!

All you have to do is sign our Declaration of Service facebook application and put it on your profile page, and invite your friends to sign. If you've already signed, you just need to add it to your profile and get your friends to sign it too. The application will keep track of how many people sign because of you, and whoever gets the most people to sign gets to go to the Ball.

Here's how:IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY SIGNED THE DECLARATION OF SERVICE...Go sign at http://cts.vresp.com/c/?BetheChangeInc./8d615fd2ed/5af77566e2/3c4f8568d3 location near the top right hand corner.Then, follow the steps below to publicize the Declaration on your facebook profile to begin getting your friends to sign because of you:

1) Add Declaration of Service application to your profile.
2) The application will post an update to your newsfeed that you have signed the application. You can post this to your newsfeed repeatedly from the Declaration of Service application (we recommend you do this regularly)
3) From the invitations page (http://cts.vresp.com/c/?BetheChangeInc./8d615fd2ed/5af77566e2/5ede45d12c), you can send the Declaration of Service to your friends to sign (do this everyday)
4) Update your status frequently and tell your friends to sign from YOUR profile, and post on friends walls asking them to sign from YOUR profile.
5) Other creative ways we expect you will figure out!To invite more friends and to post that you've signed to your newsfeed again, simply click on the Declaration of Service app on your profile or go to http://apps.facebook.com/servicenation_pledge/invite.

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SIGNED THE DECLARATION OF SERVICE BUT HAVEN'T ADDED IT TO YOUR PROFILE YET...

Go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?BetheChangeInc./8d615fd2ed/5af77566e2/cbeb91d887 and go through the five steps above.

AND IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SIGNED AND ALREADY ADDED THE APP TO YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE, CONGRATULATIONS, THANKS TO YOUR IDEALISM YOU HAVE A HEAD START!

Here is where this gets cool. The application is viral, so the way to really drive up your numbers is to get your friends to sign on the Declaration application that you added to your profile AND add the application to their page too. Anyone who subsequently signs the Declaration on their profile page will be credited back to you (as well as being credited to you friend). And if their friends also add the Declaration to their profile pages, signatures on those pages WILL ALSO be credited back to you. The bottom line: the more friends you get to sign on your page and add the Declaration to their pages, the more signatures you will accrue.

TO CHECK YOUR NUMBERS AND SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED "BECAUSE OF YOU" ...Go to your profile, and click on the Declaration of Service application (on the left beneath your friends). The number of signatures you have accrued will be displayed (Note: if you then click SIGN NOW it will take you to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?BetheChangeInc./8d615fd2ed/5af77566e2/8f9b291ead and you can sedn out another round of invites!).Good luck, and may the best facebooker win!

For full contest rule see: http://cts.vresp.com/c/?BetheChangeInc./8d615fd2ed/5af77566e2/6f649de2b6If you have any questions you can post them to the WIN TICKETS TO OBAMA'S OFFICIAL YOUTH BALL discussion.

Yours In Service,
The ServiceNation Team"

Local Officials Release Inauguration Guidance Through Facebook

Take Common-Sense Steps to Prepare for the Inauguration

Local government officials from across the National Capital Region are asking residents to take common-sense steps to prepare for the inauguration.

“Even if you don’t plan to attend any of the inaugural events, they will have an impact on your daily life on Jan. 20,” said Fairfax County Executive Anthony H. Griffin, speaking on behalf of the region’s chief administrative officers. “Residents should be ready for crowds, traffic and delays — even in areas well outside the District of Columbia. However, there are simple steps everyone can take to be prepared.”

Take these steps to get ready:

Make a Plan
• Consider teleworking on Jan. 20 if possible. Carpool if you are traveling into the District of Columbia. Cars will be restricted from some parts of the city, and it will be difficult to find parking.

• Be sure to have a full tank of gas before you go anywhere in the region, or you may become stranded while waiting in traffic. Heavy volume is expected on roads, bridges and highways across the region.

• Although Jan. 20 is a federal holiday and a holiday in many jurisdictions, some localities are enforcing weekday parking regulations. Be sure to plan ahead.

• Bring your patience because there will be delays getting to your destination. Some roads, bridges and highways may be closed temporarily, and mass transit systems will be extremely crowded.

• Be ready to walk long distances — especially in the District of Columbia — because some Metro stations and roads will be closed.


Stay Informed
• Visit www.inauguration.dc.gov to get information about road, bridge and highway closures, parking restrictions and mass transit plans.

• Sign up to D.C. Alerts for real-time information on Jan. 20 about road closures, weather and more. Subscribe at www.inauguration.dc.gov.


Be Prepared
• If you plan to attend any inaugural events, consider whether you can stand outside in large crowds for up to six hours and whether you are ready for long delays getting home afterwards.• Bring with you any medications that you need because there will be very long delays in getting to and from events.• Be aware that it may be difficult to talk or send pictures from your cell phone, according to wireless companies. Send text messages instead of making calls when possible.

For more information, visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/inauguration/

THINKForum - Serving The World - Role Models of Corporate Social Responsbility

Neighbors Helping Neighbors would like to welcome all the participants of the

http://www.greateribm.com

A presentation delivered by Andrew Levy, at Showcase Ontario, Lessons Learned From A Global Citizen, highlights some of the experiences mentioned during the session today.

If you would like to discuss this further, please email neighborshelpingneighbors@live.com

No Cost Internet For Awareness - You've Been Exposed

As we continue to think about partners or ways to increase awareness at no cost, we spent a few minutes to see where Neighbors Helping Neighbors (http://citizencorps.blogspot.com/) has appeared on the internet over the past year.

Here are some of the places articles or references can be found.

GOVERNMENT WEBSITES

Ready.gov

Department of Homeland Security
National Citizen Corps
Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Nebraska Deparment of Education
Samal City Government
Fairfax County Government

INDUSTRY MAGAZINES

Government*Horizons
Homeland Defense Journal

CONFERENCES

World Conference on Disaster Management

National Conference on Community Preparedness

Showcase Ontario

ASSOCIATIONS

International Association of Emergency Managers

National Organization on Disability

Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations

Volunteer Fairfax

NEWSPAPERS

Washington Post

All Voices

Fairfax Times

Connection Newspapers

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Facebook

LinkedIn

Second Life

SAMPLE BLOGS

Anniston Star Police
St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council
Fairfax County CERT
Mindanao Bloggers
American In Davao

General Santos

Dr. Dorodny

Web 2.0 Facebook and MySpace? The Solution For Trouble?

Have you considered using Facebook or MySpace during an emergency?

Why would you? You probably have the impression that those websites are just for youth to socialize and there is no benefit to government or businesses?

Think again.

During the next major emergency, have someone search the name of the disaster and see how quickly a group is created and how many people will discuss the incident.

While you might say it is not the official information and is inaccurate.

Would you not want to know that? After all, members of the press are monitoring those websites, as well as members of the public. Shouldn't you?

Two ways of looking at everything

Earlier, we featured a story about emergency related websites in Canada and some of the challenges we face as residents, business travelers, and tourists.

It is a good thing we do not have this problem in the United States. Or do we?

Recently, we received an email from a student who was looking to volunteer with a local police explorer program. She reached out to us through the contact form on this website, which allows our readers to send a message through Facebook. When we asked her why she reached out to us, she said she did a Google search.

So maybe the Ontario recommendation might not be that far off.

Something to think about.

Disaster Tourism? Meeting the needs of interested citizens?

The Common Ground Relief website, which was published in a Facebook group, brings light to the concept, Disaster Tourism.

"Isabelle Cossart was still evacuated in Baton Rouge when she got a call from the Army Corps of Engineers asking her to give some Japanese engineers a tour of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.

That was October 2005 and she’s been giving hurricane tours ever since."

The complete Hurricane Tours article written by Jessica Grillanda discusses Disaster Tourism in more detail.

"Isabelle Cossart says many people have also gone on from her tours to join volunteer teams involved in rebuilding. But she says she looks forward to the day when she won’t be hosting the disaster tours anymore. “I’ll be so glad when I can go back to showing nice things,” says Cossart."

One Giant Leap For Mankind - Facebook

Thinking really ahead for National Preparedness month (which is when we launched this blog last year), we created a Citizen Corps Facebook Group.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10287941494

For those not familiar with Facebook, check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook