Beginning Sept. 1, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will launch its National Preparedness Month Campaign, which will run through the entire month.  National Preparedness Month is sponsored by the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps.

This is the 7^th year that the annual preparedness program has been held, and organizers say the emphasis this year will be to encourage everyone to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. 

"We invite everyone to join the readiness team and truly help themselves, their neighbors and their communities to be Ready," said FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Russell. "We want to be working together, as a team, to ensure that individuals, families, and communities are ready." 

FEMA and the Ready Campaign invite all public and private sector organizations to join the National Preparedness Month Coalition as members. Enroll by visiting www.ready.gov and clicking on the National Preparedness Month banner.

Coalition members are encouraged to share preparedness information with their members, customers, employees, and communities and to spearhead activities that encourage specific steps for individual, neighborhood, and community preparedness. 

Free emergency preparedness information is available to anyone by visiting www.ready.gov, or calling 1-800-BE READY (1-800-237-3239), TTY 1-800-462-7585. 

Citizen Corps is FEMA's grassroots strategy to bring together government and community leaders to involve citizens in all-hazards emergency preparedness and resilience. For more information about Citizen Corps, visit www.citizencorps.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.