Georgia Fifth Graders ‘Remember the Past and Get Ready for the Future’
GEMA’s Ready Georgia art and essay contest encourages families to plan for emergencies
(ATLANTA) – For the third year in a row, Ready Georgia, the emergency preparedness campaign from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security (GEMA), is asking fifth-grade students across the state to recognize National Preparedness Month in September with a creative art, essay and video contest. This year’s theme – “Remember the Past, Get Ready for the Future” – is in observance of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and asks children to creatively illustrate how they have or will help their families prepare for the unexpected.
“This contest provides a way for students to reflect on serious topics and provide their own artistic responses,” said GEMA Director Charley English. “In the previous two years we have received some impressive entries that showed just how much fifth-graders know about what it takes to get ready for emergencies. I anticipate we’ll see some equally outstanding work this year.”
New this year is a video entry category in which fifth-grade students can collaborate to produce and submit a video that demonstrates an understanding of at least one step of emergency preparedness and its importance. The contest will also include the same individual entry categories as previous years. Artwork entries must be original, and should creatively portray the theme and demonstrate knowledge of one or more of the three emergency preparedness steps. Essay entries must be 500 words or less and should describe how remembering the past can help us prepare for the future while also demonstrating knowledge of one or more of the three steps to emergency preparedness.
Children and their parents are encouraged to visit ready.ga.gov together to learn more about the three simple steps it takes to be ready – create a Ready kit, develop a family communications plan and stay informed about potential local threats – and use what they learn to create their entry.
Three judges will review the entries and select winners in October 2011. First, second and third prizes will be awarded in the art and essay categories, while one winner will be selected in the video category. All winners will be featured on the Ready Georgia website, Flickr page and Facebook page. Prizes include:
- A Ready kit donated by Ready Georgia sponsor The Home Depot
- Build-a-robot and potato clock kits donated by Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
- CNN Studio Tour tickets
- A group pizza party donated by Papa John’s (3077 N. Druid Hills Rd. location)
- Coupons and prize packs from Chick-fil-A (1901 Peachtree Rd. and 5450 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. locations)
- Ready Georgia logo merchandise
To enter, fifth-grade students and their parents should download and complete the entry form available at ready.ga.gov. Entries with attached entry form should be mailed to:
Ready Georgia Contest
c/o Cookerly Public Relations
3500 Lenox Rd., Suite 510
Atlanta, GA 30326
Essay entries may also be submitted via e-mail, contest@ready.ga.gov. All entries must be submitted, or postmarked if sent by mail, by September 30, the last day of National Preparedness Month.
For more information about the contest or to play fun preparedness games and learn what Rex, the Ready Kids mascot, has to say about being ready, visit ready.ga.gov/Get-Involved/ReadyKids.
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About Ready Georgia
Ready Georgia is a statewide campaign designed to educate and empower Georgians to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, potential terrorist attacks and other large-scale emergencies. The campaign is a project of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and provides a local dimension to Ready America, a broader national campaign. Ready Georgia aims to prepare citizens for maintaining self-sufficiency for at least 72 hours following an emergency, and uses an interactive Web site, online community toolkit, broadcast and print advertising and public awareness media messaging to reach its audiences. Ready Georgia is also on Facebook and YouTube.
