Sponsored content by Andrea Richard, Brand Ave. Studios staff writer
Western New Yorkers know how quickly severe weather can create dangerous conditions. The 2022 blizzard showed the ways an emergency can impact neighbors and how important community resilience is.
Disaster preparedness isn’t just about individuals. It’s about how prepared Buffalo residents are as a community.
United Way of Buffalo and Erie County is answering the call and helping individuals, families and communities build resilience through preparedness workshops being hosted in September and October across the county.
The one-hour-long workshops are being facilitated by the American Red Cross on the following dates: Sept. 21 and 30 and Oct. 3, 7, 17, 24, 25 and 31. For the workshop hours and locations, click here.
What workshop attendees can expect:
Where to find accurate, reliable information during an emergency
How to prepare your home for fires, winter storms and other emergencies
Explore the contents of a disaster resilience kit
Speak with disaster preparedness experts and get your questions answered
Workshop attendees will also receive a free disaster resilience kit. The kit provides some of the basic resources people may need during an emergency, including a flashlight, batteries, a portable radio, hand warmers and other items.
“The kit is a starting point. We want people to use it along with what they learn at our workshops to create a preparedness plan for their family,” said Trina Burruss, president and CEO of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County. “Resilience means preparing before something happens, but also having the resources to respond when our neighbors need us.”
The workshops are part of a local effort connected to United Way Worldwide’s United We Prepare initiative. United Way of Buffalo and Erie County received a $250,000 Disaster Resilience Grant from United Way Worldwide, with support from Verizon.
“We were selected as one of a limited number of United Ways nationwide because of our focus on building community resilience,” said Burruss.
For Western New Yorkers, the upcoming workshops offer a free, practical way to start preparing before the next major storm arrives.
“We can't always predict when the next emergency will happen, but we can prepare. With the support of Verizon and United Way Worldwide, we’re bringing resources directly into our neighborhoods,” said Burruss. “United We Prepare is about making sure our community has the tools and resources to be ready and build a stronger, more resilient Western New York.”
Visit bit.ly/buffaloprepares for more information.
