ReadyNotifyPA Information Toolkit Provided by: Southeastern PA Regional Task Force 1 Dear <INSERT ORGANIZATION OR CONTACT>, As you’re an integral and valued part of our community, we hope that you will help us promote ReadyNotifyPA, a free text message and e-mail emergency alert system serving Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties. ReadyNotifyPA is run by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force and its alerts cover a breadth of situations and emergencies, including severe storms, floods, AMBER alerts, chemical spills, black ice, the need to seek shelter and more. While the majority of emergencies are unpredictable, residents can become aware of situations quickly by signing up for ReadyNotifyPA. Not only does ReadyNotifyPA alert subscribers of situations that interrupt daily routines, such as traffic jams and utility outages, but it also provides notifications about serious emergencies like security threats and evacuations. With that knowledge, people can do simple things to prepare themselves and, in some cases, avoid an emergency situation. Your help raising awareness and educating your employees, customers, members, and community will play a vital role in helping local citizens be prepared and be informed. This toolkit is designed to help you accomplish this goal by providing a host of tools you can use to inform your constituents about ReadyNotifyPA. To register for this free alert service, residents of Southeastern Pennsylvania can simply go to ReadyNotifyPA’s new Web site, www.readynotifypa.org, which makes it even easier to sign up. Upon registration, subscribers can select how they would like to receive the alerts—via text message or e-mail. Please note that while the ReadyNotifyPA service is free, cellular providers may charge for text messaging. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the emergency management office in your county. Complete contact information can be found on page 5 of this toolkit. For more information about ReadyNotifyPA, please visit www.readynotifypa.org, and thank you, in advance, for your help in promoting this important service. Sincerely, Joan Przybylowicz Deputy Director for External Affairs/Public Information Officer City of Philadelphia Emergency Management Chair, Public Information, Education and Outreach Workgroup Southeastern PA Regional Task Force Stacey Hajdak Director of Communications County of Bucks Vice-chair, Public Information, Education and Outreach Southeastern PA Regional Task Force 2 TOOLKIT CONTENTS SECTION TOPIC PAGE Section I What is ReadyNotifyPA? 4 Section II Who is the ReadyNotifyPA contact for my county? 5 Section III How Can I Help Promote ReadyNotifyPA? 6 Section IV ReadyNotifyPA Communication Tools 7 - E-mail Sample 7 - Newsletter/Web Site Language 8 - Sample Envelope Stuffer Language 9 - Sample Poster 10 - Sample Flyer 11 3 SECTION I: What Is ReadyNotifyPA? ReadyNotifyPA is an emergency alert system used by local emergency management officials to send emergency alerts, notifications and updates to the cell phones, pagers, BlackBerries, PDAs and/or e-mail accounts of registered subscribers. ReadyNotifyPA is a Ready Region service provided by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force and the Emergency Management Coordinators of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. While the majority of emergencies are unpredictable, residents can become aware of situations quickly by signing up for ReadyNotifyPA. Not only does ReadyNotifyPA alert subscribers to situations that interrupt daily routines, such as traffic jams and utility outages, but it also provides notifications about serious emergencies like security threats and evacuations. With that knowledge, people can do simple things to prepare themselves and in some cases avoid an emergency situation. To register for this free alert service, residents of Southeastern Pennsylvania can simply go to ReadyNotifyPA’s new Web site, www.readynotifypa.org, which makes it even easier to sign up. Upon registration, subscribers can select how they would like to receive the alerts—via text message or e-mail. Please note that while the ReadyNotifyPA service is free, cellular providers may charge for text messaging. For more information about ReadyNotifyPA, please visit www.readynotifypa.org 4 SECTION II: Who is the ReadyNotifyPA contact for my county? Montgomery County Contact: Phone Number: E-mail Address: John Corcoran 610-278-3061 jcorcora@montcopa.org Bucks County Contact: Phone Number: E-mail Address: Stacey Hajdak 215-348-6415 smhajdak@co.bucks.pa.us Delaware County Contact: Phone Number: E-mail Address: Bill Lovejoy 610-891-4931 lovejoyw@co.delaware.pa.us Philadelphia County Contact: Phone Number: E-mail Address: Joan Przybylowicz 215-686-4474 joan.przybylowicz@phila.gov Chester County Contact: Phone Number: E-mail Address: Patty Mains 610-344-5150 pmains@chesco.org 5 SECTION III: How Can We Help Promote ReadyNotifyPA? The following section outlines sample activities you can use and ways you can help your employees, customers, members, and communities find out first about emergencies and other important situations affecting your local area by signing up for ReadyNotifyPA alerts. E-mail o Send an e-mail to your employees, members or customers to inform them about ReadyNotifyPA. A sample e-mail that you can use can be found on page 6. o Use opportunistic occasions to promote the ReadyNotifyPA service with your employees, such as when severe weather is in the forecast, when there is discussion about schools closing early or when health epidemics, such as the recent H1N1 Flu, are in the news. Registration Drive o Place a laptop in your reception area for a day and encourage employees and visitors to sign up to receive ReadyNotifyPA alerts at www.readynotifypa.org. On the Web o Promote ReadyNotifyPA on your Web site by including a link to www.readynotifypa.org. o Include a blurb about ReadyNotifyPA on your Web site. Please find a sample on page 7. Newsletter o Include a blurb about ReadyNotifyPA in your newsletter. Please find sample language on page 7. During Meetings o Share ReadyNotifyPA information, such as the sample flyer we’ve included in this toolkit on page 10, during your regularly scheduled staff meetings and encourage employees to sign up for the service. Mail o Create and distribute messages about ReadyNotifyPA through stuffers in paycheck envelopes and client invoice mailings. Please see a sample bill stuffer and/or message to include with any of your regular distributions on page 8. 6 SECTION IV: ReadyNotifyPA Communication Tools In this section, you will find tools to assist you in educating your employees, customers and communities about ReadyNotifyPA, including sample e-mails, newsletter inserts and other materials to help you get started. Remember, you can tailor any of these materials to fit your audience and needs. E-Mail Sample Send e-mails to your employees and stakeholders encouraging them to sign up for ReadyNotifyPA. Subject Line Find Out First – Sign up for ReadyNotifyPA Message Dear colleagues: In our fast paced world, it can be hard to stay on top of all that’s going on with our work, families and communities. However, there’s a new service that’s making it a little easier to be in the know. ReadyNotifyPA is an emergency alert system used by local emergency management officials to send emergency alerts, notifications and updates to the cell phones, pagers, BlackBerries, PDAs and/or e-mail accounts of registered subscribers. ReadyNotifyPA is a Ready Region service provided by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force and the Emergency Management Coordinators of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Alerts cover a breadth of situations and emergencies, including severe storms, floods, AMBER alerts, chemical spills, black ice, the need to seek shelter and more. The service even keeps subscribers abreast of pertinent information related to health epidemics such as the recent H1N1 flu outbreak. I encourage you to sign up for this helpful service at www.readynotifypa.org and be the first to know! While the ReadyNotifyPA service is free, cellular providers may charge for text messaging. Thank you, <YOUR NAME/NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S LEADERSHIP> 7 Newsletter/Web Site Language Include a blurb about ReadyNotifyPA in your newsletter or on your Web site. Sample Language While the majority of emergencies are unpredictable, residents can become aware of situations quickly by signing up for ReadyNotifyPA, a free text message and e-mail emergency alert system serving Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties. Not only does ReadyNotifyPA alert subscribers to situations that interrupt daily routines, such as traffic jams and utility outages, but it also provides notifications about serious emergencies like security threats and evacuations. By being informed about situations as they happen, you can do simple things to prepare, and in some cases, avoid an emergency situation. We hope you will register for this free alert service by visiting ReadyNotifyPA’s new Web site, www.readynotifypa.org. Upon registration, you are able to select how you would like to receive the alerts—via text message or e-mail. The ReadyNotifyPA service is free, but cellular providers may charge for text messaging. For more information, please visit www.readynotify.org. 8 Customizable Envelope Stuffer Create and distribute messages about ReadyNotifyPA with paychecks or other mailings by including informative envelope stuffers. Sample Envelope Stuffer Language Find out first! Sign up to receive text messages and e-mail alerts about emergencies and other important situations affecting our local area at www.readynotifypa.org. Alerts are tailored for people who live and work in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties and cover a breadth of situations and emergencies, such as severe storms, floods, AMBER alerts, chemical spills, black ice, the need to seek shelter and more. The ReadyNotifyPA service is free, but cellular providers may charge for text messaging. 9 ReadyNotifyPA Poster Print and display this poster in your place of business or prominently in your community to encourage and educate your employees, customers and community members about signing up for ReadyNotifyPA. Be a Know-It-All Find Out About Local Emergencies First by Signing Up for ReadyNotifyPA Today Sign up to receive text messages and e-mail alerts about emergencies and other important situations affecting our local area at www.readynotifypa.org. Alerts are tailored for people who live and work in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties and include a variety of situations and emergencies, such as severe storms, floods, AMBER alerts, chemical spills, black ice, utility outages and more. The ReadyNotifyPA service is free, but cellular providers may charge for text messaging. www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org www.readynotifypa.org 10 ReadyNotifyPA Flyer Print and share this flyer throughout your place of business, your community, or at key events to encourage and educate your employees, customers and community members about signing up to receive ReadyNotifyPA alerts. Be a Know-It-All Find Out About Local Emergencies First by Subscribing to ReadyNotifyPA Sign up to receive text messages and e-mail alerts about emergencies and other important situations affecting our local area at www.readynotifypa.org. Alerts are tailored for people who live and work in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties and provide information about a variety of situations and emergencies, such as: Chemical spills Black ice Traffic accidents and jams Utility Outages AMBER alerts Other severe situations and emergencies ReadyNotifyPA’s new Web site, www.readynotify.org, makes it even easier to register and start receiving alerts and notifications sent to your cell phones, pagers, BlackBerries, PDAs and/or e-mail account. Sign up today and find out first! ReadyNotifyPA alerts are free, but cellular providers may charge for text messaging. 11