NOMINATE A TEEN FOR NATIONAL YOUTH PREPAREDNESS COUNCIL

March 20, 2012 FEMA Calls for Nominations to the National Youth Preparedness Council FEMA is looking for youth leaders who are dedicated to public service, who are making a difference in their community, and who want to expand their impact as a national advocate for youth preparedness. Are you a 12 to 17 year old who wants to make a difference in your community that could help save lives? If you have contributed to youth disaster preparedness in your community or lived through a disaster and want to share your experiences, you could be on FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council! Similarly, if you know of a young person with any of these qualities, you could also nominate him or her to serve. Youth Preparedness Council nominees will represent a variety of kids: current or former students, a youth member of a local Citizen Corps Council, a youth club, or a member of a faith-based organization who is vocal and active in preparing peers, family, and neighborhood for potential emergencies. Nominations must be received by April 6, 11:59 p.m. EDT. About the Council FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council is a unique opportunity for a select set of youth leaders to serve on a highly distinguished national council, to participate in a community preparedness roundtable event in Washington D.C., and to voice their opinions, experiences, ideas, solutions, and questions on youth disaster preparedness with the leadership of national organizations working on youth preparedness. Selection Criteria Nominations can emphasize youth disaster preparedness activities that the nominee has participated in, or can be related to a disaster the nominee lived through. Nominations should describe a specific emergency situation and/or examples of youth disaster preparedness activity that would qualify the nominee to serve on the Council. FEMA asks that applicants limit themselves to describing no more than five examples. Sample preparedness activities include, but are not limited to: Teen CERT in Action Citizen Corps Council Activities After School Activities Faith-based Youth Preparedness Activities Camp Activities Youth Club Activities (e.g., Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts) National Preparedness Month Participation Increasing Local Disaster Awareness Resources: Doing More With Less Rural Area Programs Using Social Media Pet/Service Animal Preparedness Underrepresented Communities Programs General Youth Preparedness Programs   Youth Preparedness Council Participants will be announced in May 2012, and will be FEMA’s honored guests at a community preparedness roundtable event in Washington, D.C. on June 28 and 29. Nomination Process Complete instructions are available at:  http://citizencorps.gov/getstarted/youth/youthindex.shtm. If you have any questions about the process that are not covered there, please email YPC@icfi.com. Nominating yourself? You must submit a recommendation letter as an attachment to your nomination. The letter can be from any adult, like a parent, guardian, community first responder, or teacher. Please name the file “[Your First Name]_[Your Last Name]_Letter.” (For example, “Nick_Halpern_Letter.”) Self- nominations that do not include a letter of recommendations will not be reviewed. Nominating someone else? Feel free to include a letter of recommendation, but this is not mandatory. If you do, please name the file “[Nominee First Name]_[Nominee Last Name]_Letter.” (For example, “Nick_Halpern_Letter.”)

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