MONTGOMERY-Serve Alabama is excited to announce the ninth annual “Be Ready Camp”. The application process is underway. Camp will be held Tuesday, March 24 until Saturday March 28, 2015 at the U. S. Space
and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Students who are currently in the sixth grade, residents of Alabama, and interested in attending are asked to write an essay to compete for one of 96 camp slots.
The essay should be 300 to 500 words answering the question, “What impact can a disaster have on my community, and what can I do to prepare for and respond to a disaster?” Submissions should include the student’s name, address, telephone number, school and county. Applicants are also asked to include a note from their parent/guardian permitting the child to attend camp. Essay’s are due by January 31, 2015 and selections will be made by February 15, 2015. Those who wish to be considered should send their essay to bereadycamp@servealabama.gov or mail to Be Ready Camp, 8 Commerce Street, Suite 1000, Montgomery, AL 36104. Once selected, registration is $75 which includes lodging, meals and a CERT 
backpack.
Be Ready Camp is an innovative program that promotes citizen preparedness and participation using multiple approaches to learning. Be Ready Camp utilizes a modified Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training as its foundation and broadened to include additional lessons. Be Ready Camp curriculum includes: emergency preparedness, introduction to survival and first aid, developing an emergency kit, creating a family disaster plan, water survival, light search and rescue, disaster psychology, triage, career exploration, and terrorism awareness. Throughout each lesson, the participants have the ability to demonstrate their knowledge with hands-on demonstrations in addition to traditional assessment. The camp concludes with a mock disaster, where the youth perform victim search and rescue alongside professional responders in a realistic setting. The participants are tasked with bringing the message of preparedness and what they have learned to their families and their communities.
If you have any questions contact Ashley Whittle Tiedt at ashley.tiedt@servealabama.gov or 334.328.5971.
MEDIA RELEASE/SERVEALABAMA.GOV/ASHLEY WHITTLE TIEDT
