BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA PARTNERS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Nation's Leading Youth Organization Encourages Parents, Teachers to Educate Children to 'Be Prepared'
The Boy Scouts of America has announced
a partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Ready
Kids, a family-friendly program designed to increase the level of
citizen preparedness nationwide by motivating and helping parents and
teachers to educate children about the importance of being prepared for
emergencies.
Ready Kids is a public-awareness
campaign launched February 2 as part of the DHS' commitment to
emergency preparedness. Ready Kids is the newest addition to the
successful Ready campaign, a national public service campaign to
educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to
emergencies, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The BSA
is joining this initiative given its 96-year commitment to instilling
values in America's youth to "Be Prepared"—the Scouting motto.
"We are delighted to partner with the
Department of Homeland Security on this very important initiative for
America," said Roy Williams, Chief Scout Executive. "Scouting embodies
the very essence of being prepared and has specific training and merit
badges designed to encourage proper awareness and planning in our
Scouts. To partner on a program such as this allows us to reinforce the
importance of preparation to families throughout the nation."
The BSA commitment to national
preparedness extends through its Emergency Preparedness merit badge,
the BSA Emergency Preparedness Award, and the BSA Ready and Prepared
Award, among a multitude of other activities that require specific
training. These three challenging preparedness-related awards require
fulfillment of several objectives, including youth protection,
environmental awareness and safety assessment, driving and traffic
safety, first aid readiness, personal fitness, precautions for aquatic
activities, and effective emergency planning.
The Ready Kids Web site, www.ready.gov,
features fun games and puzzles as well as age-appropriate, step-by-step
instructions on what families can do to better prepare for emergencies
and the role kids can play in that effort. In addition to the
interactive games for children, the Web site has resources for parents
and teachers on emergency preparedness and response. The DHS found a
seamless relationship with the BSA given its basic aims, which include
teaching young Americans to take care of themselves, to be helpful to
others, and to develop courage, self-reliance, and the will to be ready
to serve in an emergency. Additional partners of the Ready Kids program
include the U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
The BSA encourages all Americans to
visit www.Ready.gov to learn more about ways to prepare for emergencies
of all kinds. Whether the crisis is a natural, technological, or
national security disaster, emergency preparedness is vital to
responding effectively.
Serving 4.5 million young people
between 7 and 20 years of age with more than 300 councils throughout
the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the
nation's foremost youth program of character development and
values-based leadership training.
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