Tampa - The American Red Cross and Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) have signed a new five-year agreement to coordinate activities to advocate and promote disaster mitigation and preparedness across the nation.
The two organizations will cooperate in a number of areas to make families, businesses and communities safer from disasters. These include:
Supporting the adoption and enforcement of programs that reduce disaster damage and loss of life, such as prudent land-use decisions and new or enhanced building codes.
Promoting appropriate construction practices, standards and new building materials that better protect people and communities from disasters.
Creating materials to raise awareness of disasters and illustrate ways to minimize risks, stressing the urgent need for and significant benefits of protection in high-hazard areas.
Examining strategies and programs to encourage families, businesses and communities to embrace disaster protection as a practice and not just a concept. Also, both organizations will work closely together to identify and help eliminate impediments to disaster safety initiatives.
"Where natural disasters strike is a matter of chance,” said Harvey Ryland, president and CEO of the Institute for Business & Home Safety. "But home and business owners increasingly have the ability to make the choice to be safe. We expect our work with the American Red Cross to help limit the harm that disasters cause by increasing awareness of measures to better protect families, businesses and communities."
"Whenever and wherever disasters occur, the American Red Cross will be there with comfort and care for the victims," said Marsha J. Evans, president and CEO, American Red Cross. "However, taking the steps to prevent and reduce damage and destruction before natural disasters happen is crucial, and the Red Cross is thrilled to partner with the Institute for Business & Home Safety to get these important safety messages out to communities across the country."
Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of local community supporters -- volunteers, blood donors, and financial donors -- organized into nearly 1,000 chapters, Blood Services regions and field units dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.
Led by 1.2 million volunteers and 36,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, trains nearly 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchanges more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts throughout the world.
Based in Tampa, FL, the Institute for Business & Home Safety is a national nonprofit initiative of the insurance industry to reduce deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses and human suffering caused by natural disasters. The group engages in communication, education, engineering and research.
For more information on how to avoid or reduce injuries or property damage from natural disaster, visit the IBHS web site www.disastersafety.org or call toll free (866) 657-IBHS (4247). Also visit www.redcross.org or call your local American Red Cross chapter.
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