Celebrate Get Ready Day on Sept. 21 and spread the preparedness message

Help your community become more prepared for pandemic flu, disasters and other public health threats by taking part in this year’s Get Ready Day on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

Held annually on the third Tuesday in September, Get Ready Day is timed to coincide with National Preparedness Month, which urges all Americans to prepare, plan and stay informed. Get Ready Day is part of APHA’s Get Ready campaign, which is helping Americans prepare themselves, their families and their communities for all hazards they may face, including pandemic flu, infectious diseases, disasters and other public health threats.

So how can you get involved in Get Ready Day? Set up a booth on campus, pass out materials at a health department, sponsor a preparedness talk at a community center or work with a local grocery store to promote preparedness and stockpiling to shoppers. Our Get Ready Event Guide (PDF) has even more ideas, an event checklist and a sample news release. Also available online from APHA is the Get Ready Games Guide, with do-it-yourself preparedness games that can be used at a Get Ready Day event for kids. No time to hold an event? Add the Get Ready logo and link to your website or blog.

This year, the campaign launched the Get Ready Pledge. Pledge to help make your community better prepared and spread the word! Also new to Get Ready is the Get Ready Video, which tells the story of preparedness through a fun, animated story of an ant and a grasshopper. The video can be downloaded to share with friends and family.

You can help spread the word about your Get Ready Day event by posting your activity to our free online Get Ready Calendar of Events. We’d love to hear about how you celebrate Get Ready Day, so drop us a line or send us a photo of your activities. Thanks for helping spread the preparedness message!