Stand Tall in the Community

C ongratulations to the Mount Baker and Triangle Chapters for making a commitment to community service.

Protect the vulnerable

The Mount Baker Chapter is pursuing a program for mitigation of hazards in childcare centers in conjunction with the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) that was introduced at Chapter Leader-ship Day in Chicago last October. The booklet handed out at the meeting outlined the project step by step.

1) Talk to local building and emergency management officials to determine what nonstructural retrofit techniques make sense for your community.

2) Meet with the owner or operator of the child care center and discuss the program, the retrofits they may need, and how to cover the cost of materials.

3) Inspect the center or see what needs to be done. Obtain supplies and set a date to do the work.

4) Be sure to invite the local media.

The program is designed to protect the most vulnerable victims in a disaster – children. Congratulations to the Mount Baker Chapter for planning this project. Contact James Russell at jrussell@ibhs.org for information on how your chapter can make similar plans.

Stand ready

The Triangle Chapter is committed to providing volunteers to the Red Cross to do Preliminary Damage Assessment Surveys following disasters. According to Bill Delamar, who spearheads the activity, approximately one third of the chapter’s members are at varying stages of certification by the Red Cross. The commitment to serve is being formalized with an agreement between the ASHI Chapter and the state Red Cross Chapter. Recently other ASHI chapters have expressed an interest in the training and certification program. Contact the local Red Cross Chapter for information about developing a program for your chapter.

Reach out

In addition to relationships with IBHS and Red Cross, ASHI has an understanding with Rebuilding Together (formerly Christmas in April), the nation’s largest volunteer organization preserving and revitalizing low-income houses and communities. To learn more or to see if there’s a project scheduled nearby that needs another pair of hands, go to www.rebuildingtogether.org.

Be counted

One way to make a statement about ASHI’s interest in serving local communities is for chapters nationwide to commit to community service. Follow the example of Mount Baker and Triangle. Choose a local activity and go to work. Notify local media and share recaps and photographs of the event with Sandy Bourseau (sandyb@ashi.org) for publication.