Give the Gift of Preparedness this Holiday Season

CHICAGO – With the holidays fast approaching, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region V office encourages everyone to consider giving gifts that will help protect their family members and friends during a future emergency.

“A gift to help prepare for emergencies could be life-saving for friends and family,” said FEMA Region V acting regional administrator, Janet Odeshoo. “These gift ideas provide a great starting point for being prepared for an emergency or disaster.”

Supplies for an emergency preparedness kit can make unique—and potentially life-saving—holiday gifts, such as:

• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert.

• A flashlight with extra batteries.

• Solar-powered cell phone charger.

• Smoke detector and/or carbon monoxide detectors.

• First aid kit.

• Fire extinguisher and fire escape ladder.

• Enrollment in a CPR or first aid class.

• Books, coloring books, crayons and board games for the kids, in case the power goes out.

• Personal hygiene comfort kit, including shampoo, body wash, wash cloth, hairbrush, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant.

• A waterproof pouch or backpack containing any of the above items, or with such things as a rain poncho, moist towelettes, work gloves, batteries, duct tape, whistle, food bars, etc.

Holiday shoppers might also consider giving a winter car kit, equipped with a shovel, ice scraper, emergency flares, fluorescent distress flags and jumper cables. For animal lovers, a pet disaster kit with emergency food, bottled water, toys and a leash is also a good gift.

The gift of preparedness might just save the life of a friend or family member. For more information, preparedness tips or other gift ideas, visit http://www.Ready.gov.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, http://www.facebook.com/fema, and http://www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.