Growing Project:Camp’s Capacity for Care
After a busy start to fire season in May, June has proved to be a quieter month and given us a bit of respite. While we hope things continue to be calm, we continue to monitor a variety of incidents and remain vigilant.
This break in fire season has also given us valuable time to continue proactive community organizing work, helping disaster-prone regions plan and implement emergency response measures that take into account the needs of families and children.
On that front, we’re also thrilled to announce that the California Office of Emergency Services has awarded us a $350,000 grant to do this important work in six counties across the state. The grant comes through the agency’s Listos California Community Resilience Campaign, which aims to educate and prepare state residents for disaster scenarios.
The award is both a validation, of sorts, for the work we’ve already been doing to help prepare communities, but more importantly it allows us to dramatically expand our capacity to lift up the voices of children and families and help prioritize their needs before disasters hit. The recognition that this proactive approach is worthy of inclusion in California’s larger preparedness efforts is incredibly meaningful to us, and puts an enormous amount of wind in our sails going forward.
On a practical level, it also means that we’re looking to hire a new member of the Project:Camp team to lead our community organizing efforts! While whoever we hire will be helping with all our organizing efforts, we’re looking for someone with deep connections to Northern California where much of our fire-related response efforts are concentrated.
The grant also has allowed us to start thinking a bit more long term, with an eye not just on the fire and hurricane seasons this year, but to future seasons as well. We’re starting to imagine how to expand our networks and put in place a regional plan that supports children and families in times of disasters from a grassroots level. While these ideas are still in a formative state, we’re excited to share more of this plan with you all in the coming months and years.
With gratitude,
Mikey
Bulletin Board
We’re absolutely jumping with joy to announce several new developments related to our Board of Directors. First and foremost we’re excited to have elevated Lorraine Schneider to Board Chair. Lorraine has deep experience in the emergency management world, and is the Executive Director of The Resiliency Initiative, Founder of the Emergency Management Growth Initiative and a former emergency manager with Disney and UCLA. We’d also like to welcome our newest Board Member David Baron! Davey brings a wealth of expertise to our organization with a background in branding, organizational strategy and startup experience. An early supporter of Project:Camp, we're excited to have his enthusiasm and vision on our Board of Directors.. Lastly we’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our outgoing Board Chair Shannon Silber Shapiro, who helped guide us through our formative years and gave us a strong foundation on which to build.
As we mentioned, Project:Camp is hiring a community organizer! We’re looking for someone with exceptional communication skills, an aptitude for consensus building, and deep ties to NorCal. If that’s you or someone you know, more information on the job and how to apply can be found on the jobs section of our website!
Mikey was privileged to be invited to speak at the Hermosa Beach Kiwanis Club recently, and presented on Project:Camp as a whole and how the club’s generosity helped ensure the success of our latest camp in New Mexico. Thank you Hermosa Beach Kiwanis for the opportunity and your support of our mission!
