What Is Your Ward/Stake Doing About Preparedness?

[AZ Prepper]

Share with us what your Ward and Stake are doing regarding preparedness...

[Northmountain]

Our stake is maintaining the focus on personal and family preparedness as one of the 2010 goals. Two years ago we concentrated on a year supply, 72-hour kits, CERT and neighborhood organization with success measured each month.

By year end, 80+% of stake members had very functional 72-hour kits and a large percentage either had a year supply or were well on the way. It was amazing to see how resourceful folks were in finding the resources to accomplish / address the goals and not impact their financial lives unduly.

Additionally, I took 11% of the stake population (all faiths / etc.) through CERT and organized the 7-Steps / Block program throughout the stake boundaries, which is still working well. Almost all of our block captains / co-captains have completed CERT training.

Stake and ward boundaries are used by the city for their emergency preparedness groupings. We worked with them to make sure the neighborhood boundaries only had to be established once -- (of course growth requires tweaks and modifications).

Our city runs an annual emergency drill each fall down to the individual citizen level using the neighborhood organizations / block captains and church leadership / priesthood tree (obviously, living in a predominantly LDS community allows this level of church participation).

The city won the 'Best in the Nation' award for smaller cities in 2009.

The city focus on emergency preparedness makes it a lot easier to maintain the enthusiasm for preparedness in the minds of residents rather than repeatedly hearing about it from the ward / stake emergency preparedness person(s) and representatives from other faiths and organizations.

[InDy]

Our Stake President had his wife put together a big binder full of preparedness info and gave a copy to all of those that wanted one. It's awesom....full of information. Every month the stake preparedness specialist sends out additonal info to all of the wards to add to the binder.

Speaking of our stake prep. spec.--he's awesome. Anytime a family wants to can, all they have to do is make an appointment and he'll make sure he has his garage nice and stocked with food, cans, and buckets so that they can go over to his house and get it done without having to drive the extra miles to our nearest cannery. He seems to takes his calling very serious.

[AZ Prepper]

Our Stake President had his wife put together a big binder full of preparedness info and gave a copy to all of those that wanted one. It's awesom....full of information. Every month the stake preparedness specialist sends out additonal info to all of the wards to add to the binder.

Check with them and see if they might be interested in sharing some of what they do (including some of the handouts) with other preparedness specialists via this website. I'm sure, if they're willing, that many others would greatly benefit from it. We'll have a downloads section here very soon for documents to be uploaded to for all registered users to utilize.

[InDy]

Will do...

As far as the handouts go, I know they would not mind as they have encouraged us to share them with others.

[maroonlady]

I get the impression that they want me not to do anything much, kind of in hopes that this will all just go away. Consequently, I am much frustrated. Maroonlady

[AZ Prepper]

I get the impression that they want me not to do anything much, kind of in hopes that this will all just go away. Consequently, I am much frustrated. Maroonlady

I'm sure that you will find great resources here as more and more preparedness specialists join us and share their ideas, materials, etc. Who knows... maybe you'll be able to light a fire and get them more interested! Welcome!

[cowgirlinn]

I am glad I am not the only one getting that kind of impression, but I feal that I need to keep trying. This calling is a little harder though it is not like the give you the all the things you need for the job that needs to be done. Not like a teacher of a class. You have to go out and find it all and if you know nothing then it makes it that much harder. But there is this wonderful inter net that has helped my get as far as i have. I am exiceted about this site and all it is doing for people like me. Thank you all that help out?

[Riderbob]

First Post so here goes.

A few of the things we have and are doing.
Last year..... started a ward/community garden (2acres) and had a few canning classes. Lots of extra produce. Some waste, some donated outside the ward. Had great weeding parties. The misc preisthood and Relief society prep lessons. Started a project to turn our bowery into a dry pack cannery.
This year...... Same garden with maybe more acres if needed. better use of harvest from garden.
Cannery project finished(very close now). First aid/CPR class availability for preisthood and R/S. Update of ward emergency plan.
Possibly some off the record LEO firearm training. SSSHHHHHHH. And anything else the Bishop and auxileries think we can fit in.

[Kelly Alwood]

I love the community garden idea. I'm gonna use that. Thank you.
I started this job from scratch. Noone had help this possition for 7 years. And the extend of it was one, one hour class given.
I started by making power point presentations, and holding a class every other week, two hours a night.
I started with 72 hour kits. Then vehicle kits. Then food storage. Then went into some specialty stuff. Medical classes and a storage program for that. Fuels, and storage. Communications and storage.
I have to back up, I started by printing out a questionair I made, and handing it out, one to every household in the Ward. Listed med requirements, resources (i.e. chainsaws, backhoes, 4X4 trucks, portable heaters, etc), then special skills (i.e. emt, doctor, mechanic, ham radio operator, construction, etc) and families with special needs.
I then went home to home with every member and looked at all of their 72 hour kits. Every kit was emptied on the floor and we went through it in their home.
I then held classes on fire making and heating. Lighting and cooking. Any many others.
Then I organized the ward into small groups of about five households in near proximity to each other. Making one Elder in each group in charge. They will be the first responders to the people in their group. One home in the group was announced as the primary safe house if evacuation was nessesary. Then I put it all on a map. Marked and labled all the homes, resources, etc. on the map. I put different layers on the map to overlay. For instance, I had roads for evacuation labled and printed on the map. Then had a layer with a map and all MP holders marked. Then one with households special needs. Then resources and so on. I printed them out on clear sheets in the printer. Now I can put down the map, and lay a slide over it, or two or three, seeing everything I need to at the same time.
We invited the newspaper to come and do a story and invite everyone to join. I arranged for the local EMA director to come talk and explain how and what the government agencies will and wont do. I arranged a Ham radio class to be taught and encouraged everyone to attend the free classes and get licenced.
Thats about it so far. I receive outstanding support from my local leadership. They had been very supportive on everything I am doing.

http://www.kpcnews.com/index.php?opt...ion&Itemid=158

[AZ Prepper]

Kelly, please share the details of your presentations, handouts, etc. for those who are needing some ideas on what they could do. If there is something you'd be willing to share, feel free to upload it in the downloads section. Thanks for sharing!

[Riderbob]

Wow Kelly,

That is really impressive.
Take the garden idea. It was a great community builder. Can I take some of your ideas? I really like the overlay idea.
We are a rural community with the ward spread out over 27 miles, me and mine being the farthest out.
So our ward emergency plan has been split into four zones with maps and addys of not only members but but non members. As the EQP, I have to cover each of the 4 zones. I have the outermost zone. It was a branch that was incorperated into our current ward a few years ago. My 1st counselor lives on the southern side of old ward boundries, 2nd counselor lives on northern boundry and secretary lives dead center, so it was quite obvious who got what zones. We each assess our zones then report to Bishop or unit commander.
We just sent around the '10 equipment and also our CERT, CPR/ First Aid,EMT, HAM radio update lists. Some of my Elders have been busy.
We have done an emergency prep class every quarter for 1st sunday lesson since I was put in as EQP. I figure we spend the rest of the time on spiritual prep and the guys like to see what new gadgets I have aquired for my 72(really 96)hr kit. Others think it is all their wives responcibility. Not sure how to get them enthused about this but hey it's all about agency.

Again Kelly Great Job!!!

[Kelly Alwood]

Thank you, and your welcome. Please feel free to use any ideas and make them better. I would like to hear back and see how you have improved my things so that I can follow suit. I have posted some PPT's I made, and also some documents with lists and questionares on the downloads section. I would love to hear back from people how they have modified and added to them to be better.
I have the same thing with some of my guys here. And the women take it serious. I had more women in my classes than men. They are really trying hard, and picking up the lazy mens slack. God love them.
One thing that happened was, by putting together a cool program, it was cool to come. So more people showed up every week. And, I made the announcement Sunday in EQ meeting, and asked by show of hands who planned on coming so I could arrange enough props. my dirty trick to peer pressure them into giving some effort to the program. I also blasted the NEED for it by way of church presidency mandating fathers take responsibility for this and do it. This is no less important than a temple recomend.
Thats how I did it. It definetely got more people involved. I dont think members realize the RESPONSIBILITY to do this. I showed them through the words of the presidency.
Just my thoughts..

[grillman74]

I can a test to what Kelly is doing for our branch I have learned a lot from him and his teaching of preparedness for things that could happen to us

[Angela]

A friend of mine was called as emergency prep specialist for her ward. She's planning some type of hands on class every other month and cannery trips on the alternating months. This month they are putting together emergency kits. She sent around a sign up sheet with pricing on basics like waterproof matches, emergency blankets, lightsticks, etc. and had people sign up how many they wanted of each and pay for their total. Then they're getting together and assembling it all and she's got a vacuum sealer and they'll be vacuum packing clothes, towels, blankets, whatever they want to put in their kits that night also (she took a sample from one of my kids kits to show them how small you can pack a change of clothes this way). She's had very good response for this activity. Should go well and get a few people better prepared.