Hi, I am Dan Paulette-Chapman with the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area. Today, I am going to show you a little bit about how to prepare yourself and your family in case of an emergency. We are going to talk about making a plan, building a kit, items that go into the kit and other special topics to consider. Building a kit is not difficult, so long as you follow a few simple rules and include a few critical items. Make sure to also include items for your entire family including any elderly, infants and pets that you may have. Be sure to also involve them in the process of building your kit and making a plan. You want to make sure that your entire family is ready to respond.

As coordinator of Disaster Personal and Administration, I have over five years experience serving on local disasters as well as national disaster relief operations. I also teach and help prepare the community to respond to disasters of any kind, so that we can all be Red Cross ready when the time comes.