The Cayuga County Chapter of the American Red Cross encourages the local population Cayuga County citizen to participate in National Preparedness Month and take the simple steps to be prepared for emergencies at home, work and at school.

This national initiative promotes individual preparedness across our country. There are a wide variety of natural and man-made disasters that affect different areas of our nation. Luckily, Cayuga County does not encounter hurricanes and tornadoes too often, but snowstorms, floods and other natural events could hit at any time.

People all have the same basic needs whether they were displaced by a hurricane or home fire, or whether they must find shelter after an ice storm or hazardous material spill. Although we may not always be able to prevent disasters or emergencies, being prepared helps us to respond better and recover faster. That is what National Preparedness Month is all about.

National Preparedness Month began after experience showed that personal preparedness is the most effective help for a family responding to or recovering from a disaster. Disasters are often unexpected, but when one strikes, it could be up to three days before help arrives. If you can't get to help, chances are good that help can't get to you either.

These first few days are the most critical to a family recovering from a disaster. The Cayuga County Chapter encourages people to prepare themselves for disasters such as home fires by knowing your disaster risk, creating an emergency action plan, building a disaster supplies kit and getting involved with community preparation endeavors. We want you to be ready for that critical time period.

Throughout September and into October, we are holding “Be Red Cross Ready” classes at Seymour Library, the chapter offices, The YMCA and other sites. These classes are free and funded in part by Fidelis Care New York and will be lead by AmeriCorpsVISTA Hunter Sweet. Participants will receive a goodie bag of information and a magnetic Preparedness Reminder Calendar recapping the steps to take to be ready for that next disaster.

The four key elements of preparedness are creating a disaster supply kit, making a family emergency plan, being informed about threats to your family and getting involved with preparing your community.

If you are interested is scheduling a “Be Red Cross Ready” session for your Red Hat Ladies Society, reading club or breakfast group (or any other group), call Hunter at 252-9596.

We encourage Cayuga County residents to prepare for disasters and other emergency situations by promoting Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED training. Then you can respond to breathing, choking and cardiac emergencies when you may be the only person around who can help. It's most likely that the person you save will be someone you care about. Please, sign up for a CPR/First Aid course - because not having the knowledge to help is the worst feeling in the world.

You can learn more about National Preparedness Month by visiting www.RedCross.org /Preparedness/NPM/ or

by contacting us at chapter@ccredcross.org.

Susan Marteney is executive

director of the Cayuga County Chapter of the American Red Cross