Big in Des Moines

Safe America’s Len Pagano, Mary Lou Pagano and Risa Mendelson were a big hit at the National Foundation of Women Legislators Annual Conference in Des Moines on August 12-14. The response we received was phenomenal with over 60 women from 32 states partnering with Safe America to lead safety initiatives in their communties.

Add a comment

National Safety Campaign Mobilizes Female Legislators, First Spouses

Elected Officials Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 by Promoting Drills Teaching Americans to Be Prepared, Not Scared™

Atlanta, Aug. 31, 2011 – The Safe America Foundation, the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL), Puerto Rico First Lady Lucé Vela de Fortuño and Former West Virginia First Lady Gayle Manchin are joining forces to encourage over one million Americans to practice emergency readiness exercises this September and October.

In commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, this effort is part of the Safe America Foundation’s March to 1 Million national safety campaign. The goal of this initiative is to encourage every American to think about how they would cope with a natural or man caused emergency.  

“Working in conjunction with the Emergency Managers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, we want to leverage the relationships these elected women and First Spouses have in their communities to get local School Superintendents, PTA Chapters and small business people ‘involved’ in drilling each September. It is a fitting legacy to those who died on 9/11 – and it can help prevent a catastrophe from becoming more horrific,’ said NFWL President & CEO Robin Read.

At the NFWL’s annual conference in Des Moines, Iowa this August 11-15, Safe America will teach elected women from across the nation how to lead preparedness drills in their communities and states. Of particular focus will be the role text messaging can play in communicating with loved ones during a disaster. Participants will also have the opportunity to hear how ‘Town Hall Meetings’ can be utilized to promote a new text ‘safety shorthand’ – 7865 “RUOK”/4665 “IMOK” and be filmed for TV spots that will be distributed to NBC, Telemundo and other local broadcast media.

Thanks to the efforts of Manchin and Vela de Fortuño, Puerto Rico is in the planning stage of a preparedness texting drill this fall. In addition, major sponsors including Motorola, Alcatel-Lucent and UPS are being invited to involve their collective employees.

“We cannot wait for another major emergency – we need to do this now,” said Gayle Manchin. “All elected officials are responsible for the creation of effective emergency plans for communities and districts. It is also critical to practice these plans so that everyone is prepared when disaster strikes,” added Lucé Vela de Fortuño.
“We want to enlist their voices – and hearts – in helping Americans be ‘prepared’ to handle the kinds of emergencies we all expect – tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and even man-made incidents of mass destruction” said Safe America President and CEO Len Pagano.

March to 1 Million

Begun in 2009 under the banner Drill Down for Safety, the Safe America Foundation’s preparedness programming has to-date mobilized over 1.2 million Americans to participate in preparedness exercises. In 2010 alone, 800,000 people in over 40 states conducted emergency drills during the month of September.

This initiative is the Foundation’s most expansive yet and will include a national ‘safety umbrella tour’ that is being co-sponsored by a coalition of over 30 national non-profits and other organizations.

About the Safe America Foundation

Safe America Foundation, a 501c-3 non-profit, headquartered in suburban Atlanta, created the “March to 1 Million” program as a centerpiece of a multi-year national mobilization campaign. Its goal is to use the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to encourage people to learn what they should do after an emergency – and what can be done in advance to rehearse re-connecting with family members.

For more information please contact Matthew Thome, ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), via cell 847.431.7825.

###

Add a comment

Text Messages Save Joplin Woman, Son

 

Editor’s Note: The following report shares news of how texting was a life-saving tool during the recent tornado in Joplin, Missouri. This information is the latest evidence supporting Safe America continuing drive to move forward in conducting a national educational campaign around the message ‘Text First. Talk Second. ™’ Watch Safe America’s website for further information on plans  in August to roll out this program… along with a patented ‘safety app’ being developed for Safe America by the Caerus Institute that will assist a person in sending multiple text messages simultaneously and being developed now for release on the Verizon Network (and the Android platform for Motorola Droid smartphones).  To learn more about this free app, contact Bill Soule at (770)-973-7233.

POSTED: 10:53 am EDT May 23, 2011
UPDATED: 6:43 pm EDT May 23, 2011
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. -- A Wethersfield father spent the night next to his phone, waiting to hear from his daughter and grandson as a devastating tornado tore through Joplin, Mo., late Sunday evening left dozens dead and injured.
Steve Marsh had his eyes glued to television footage of what's left of Joplin since a tornado struck Sunday, thinking that his daughter Heather had to have been hit.
"She called her mother, who told her to get in the bathtub. That's what saved her. The neighbors got them out. She was texting everybody she knew to come and get her," Marsh said.
Marsh's daughter's one-story home collapsed around her, but the 32-year-old and her 6-year-old son Hayden were pulled out of the rubble. They were bruised and scratched, but alive.
Without a basement, getting in that bathtub anchored Heather and Hayden to the ground, and the sink actually blocked part of the roof from falling directly on them. Stepping outside of her home, Heather said the scope of devastation around her was shocking.
"When the first wall hit my back I was like, OK, we can do this. Then it just started piling more and more, and I actually for the first time in my life thought, that was it, this is how we were gonna die," Heather said from Joplin.
"It's like somebody took the biggest lawnmower you've ever seen in your life and just mowed down neighborhoods," she said.
Heather and everyone in her flattened neighborhood are left with just the clothes on their backs.
Steve Marsh, who lives about 1,500 miles away, said he feels helpless. He's working on finding a way to Missouri.
"I'm just grateful that my daughter and my grandson's alive," Marsh said.

Add a comment