Mark your calendars for Get Ready Day, Sept. 20, 2011

It is that time of year again — when you, your family and your community have an opportunity to get ready for public health threats and emergencies. As we all know, disasters can strike at any time so here are some tools to help you prepare and make Get Ready Day on Sept. 20, 2011, a success.

There are many ways to get involved. Hold an event such as a preparedness fair, set up a booth on campus or distribute fliers in your community. No time for an event? Add a link to your website, sign our pledge or enter our Get Ready video contest. We have plenty of planning tips to help you get started. And we have lots of fact sheets, handouts and other resources to support your efforts, including a Get Ready Event Guide.

Not only is learning about how to prepare for emergencies important, but it can be fun too. Check out our Get Ready Games Guide made especially for kids. Educate yourself, loved ones and your community about emergency preparedness while figuring out brain teasers, connecting the dots, solving a crossword puzzle, competing in a memory game and more. Try them out and tell us which one is your favorite by commenting below.

Tell us about your activities via the Get Ready Calendar. Then after your event, share what you learned. Take pictures of your Get Ready Day activities or of you and your friends playing your favorite Get Ready games, and share the photos on APHA’s Flickr pool.

Preparing for emergencies may not be all fun and games, but keeping it enjoyable sure can help.

Good luck, have fun and prepare well!