Preparing for a disaster can save more than just things – it can save lives! The more you prepare, the more time you have to get your family, pets and important items out of harm’s way. Putting together a Go Bag is an easy thing that anyone can do with things you already have. It took me less than 30 minutes to put together a Go Bag for my whole family, and we recorded a video while I was doing it. Check it out:
Preparing for a disaster can save more than just things – it can save lives! The more you prepare, the more time you have to get your family, pets and important items out of harm’s way. Putting together a Go Bag is an easy thing that anyone can do with things you already have. It took me less than 30 minutes to put together a Go Bag for my whole family, and we recorded a video while I was doing it. Check it out:
Amidst the Me Too era, Swarthmore banned their only 2 fraternities as a result of pressure from the student body. The Phi Psi brothers used to boast about sexual violence and spread bigotry amongst their community. They took pride in their reputation and even named a bedroom on the top floor of their frat house the “Rape Attic.”
One of the victims started a blog where other victims could anonymously share their stories of rape and sexual harassment. They’ve chronicled over a 100 stories of abuse from victims as well as “brag” stories from frat brothers that were logged in their minutes.
Swarthmore president Valerie Smith banned frat activities while minutes and documents were reviewed. Meanwhile, the fraternities disbanded under peer pressure and admitted that the wounds from their behavior were too deep to repair. I’m glad to see college administration listening to their students and taking bold steps to protect them.
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Leave it to Sesame Street to include foster kids in their Muppet family. In the US, we have over 440,000 children in our foster care system. These children need to see that their family situation is part of our society so they understand that they aren’t alone. Karli, a new Sesame Street Muppet, is a foster child, and her plight and uncertainty is portrayed in Sesame Street shows.
Having Karli interact with the other Sesame Street characters normalizes the lives of foster children. It also helps other children understand the situation and empathize with children who live with temporary families. Check out this episode with Elmo and Karli:
Sesame Street is one of the best academic and social teaching tools that TV offers to our children. That’s why I continue to support it, even though my kids are in their 30s.
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Every year when I brainstorm about topics to write about on college application essays with rising seniors, I find the most difficult part is helping them find their own voices. Many think there is a formula that’ll get them into an Ivy League college or others make up stories with the intent of winning over the reader. For students who didn’t win a national award or cure cancer, they’ll need to do some soul searching to tell a story that reveals something interesting about themselves so the admissions officers get to know them a little better. If they did a project, their personal statements and main common application essays will focus on their experiences.
Because one essay worked for a student who got into Stanford, that doesn’t mean that a similar essay would do the same for you.
Don’t write:
- That you understand poverty because you saw it on a service trip (trust me, you don’t).
- About the amazing successes of your grandfather (unless you tie it back to how he influenced you)
- About your exclusive vacation at a resort (sounds like entitlement)
- About how clever you are (instead, tell a story that will make the reader think you’re clever)
- About how you won the championship for your team (remember, it takes a team)
- About wanting to go to XYZ college because your boyfriend does or everyone in your family did (you’ll look shallow and clueless)
- That you overcame something irrelevant (boredom)
- That you want to go to ABC college because you like their winning football team. (clueless)
- That you are the best at something when there are lots of students who do the same (8 million kids play sports and 22 million participate in music in high school)
- About why you like the college by summarizing their home page of their website (Research your major, clubs, professors research, and more to validate your decision to apply)
- Using humor or sass unless you are very good at using it (nothing worse than a joke that fell short)
Remember, college admissions officers read thousands of essays each year. Open with a hook to pique their curiosity. Then share with them something about yourself that makes them see the real you. Make them want to read more to learn about you. If your essay just drones on and on, you’ll lose the reader. If you’d like help, Merit Educational Consultants has coaches who guide you through the process while maintaining your voice and your message.
Susan is spreading the news about ProjectMerit and the book Beat the College Admissions Game with ProjectMerit! Her latest interview is with Larry and Robin with WOCA: The Source in Ocala Florida. The interview is an excellent way to spend 30 minutes and is available on YouTube here:
There are a number of EASY things you can do to prepare for an emergency. I’ve created an easy checklist anyone can use to start preparing for a disaster. The checklist is located on the AmericanMothersCalifornia.com website here, and I’ve also recorded a 30-minute podcast that goes into a lot more detail – you can listen to it here, or find GakkoMom on iTunes and subscribe to my podcast. It’s also embedded here:
Please take a few minutes to read the checklist, or listen to the podcast when you have some free time. With a little bit of preparedness, you can save precious things – and even lives.
As California’s Mother of the Year, I’d like to make sure that we’re prepared to protect our homes, families, and pets as we enter FIRE SEASON. Everyone knows that it’s a matter of “WHEN” not “IF” there will be another catastrophic wildfire like had last year when both northern (Paradise Camp Fire) and southern (Woolsey Fire) destroyed almost 20,000 structures, burned almost 250,000 acres, and killed 88 people. So let’s work together to prevent a fire from taking out your homes and neighborhoods.
#1: PUT TOGETHER GO-BAGS
Fill an old backpack or suitcase with things you’ll need to survive in the case of an evacuation. I created 2 Go-Bags.
Go-Bag #1: In my car trunk
This bag has things that I need to survive for 3-5 days:
__ First aid kit
__ Food (high protein, energy boosting, non-perishable, plates/utensils)
__ Personal hygiene (toothbrush/paste, shampoo/conditioner, tampons/pads, contact lens cases/solution, medications, etc.)
__ Water (3 gal/person; water purification tablets)
__ Tools (wrench, screwdriver, saw, hammer, can opener, phone chargers)
__ Battery-powered radio and flashlight
__ Clothes (long pants, sweatshirts/jackets, sturdy shoes, hats, etc)
__ Sleeping bags/pillows
__ Paperwork (copies of IDs, insurance policies, prescriptions, important phone numbers, back-up drives, and Cash (small bills))
__ Pet plans (dog bowls, vaccination records, leash)
Go-Bag #2: In my house
This bag contains a list of things for me to grab before I evacuate my house. This prevents you from forgetting precious items during the chaos.
__ Precious jewelry
__ Cash
__ Medications/Medical equipment
__ Important documents (mortgage, insurance, investments, etc)
__ Computer drives/laptops/back-up drives
__ Photo albums
__ Videotapes/drives
__ Framed photos
__ Artwork
#2: SIGN UP FOR CodeRED
By signing up for CodeRED, this reverse 9-1-1 system will alert you of important messages in your county. All you need to do is sign up with your cell or VOIP phone number as well as GPS service,and you’ll automatically receive emergency messages (evacuation and disaster updates).
#3: UPDATE YOUR STATUS WITH LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
During an emergency, your local fire department will have limited time to reach out to affected residents. If you inform them of who lives in your home (including how many disabled or elderly people), how many indoor and outdoor pets/livestock, gas tanks, electricity meters, water storage tanks, etc, they can more efficiently rescue victims.
__ Full names of each resident
__ Street address (including specific directions if the house is not on the main road)
__ Contact info (landline, cell phone, email)
__ Ages of residents who are disabled, elderly, or children
__ Pet names, breeds, ages, and location (indoor/outdoor)
__ Number and location of propane/gas tanks
__ Number and location of PG&E meters/shut-off valves
__ Number, location, and size of water tanks (specify valve type, pump, and hose) (current level of water)
__ Medical/Paramedic/EMT/CPR training
__ Access roads for evacuation (describe and indicate if a fire truck and/or vehicle can use in case of an emergency)
__ Ham radio (licensed)
#4: ORGANIZE EVACUATION PLAN AND MEETING LOCATION
Every household should set up an evacuation plan that consists of collecting go-bags, pets, and family members/neighbors. Know your evacuation routes, and if you have only exit route by car, know other routes that you can take on foot. Practice this with your family.
Plan to meet at one central location after a disaster. Assume that cell phone service will be down and that everyone will be hoofing it to this location. Choose a place that will be safe in the case of a fire or earthquake. My family meets in the Safeway parking lot where there is plenty of asphalt and few structures. We’ve agreed that if we should move from the lot, that we would post a note with the new destination on a light pole.
Sometimes you can reach people out of state, even when local calls won’t go through. Choose a family member or friend who lives out of state to be the contact person. Tell all family and friends to give updates on location and physical condition to that emergency contact person and make sure that their name and contact info is in each of the go-bags.
#5: BUDDY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Now that we’ve discussed your plans with your immediate family and household members, let’s consider your neighborhoods. First create a neighborhood group that consists of no more than a dozen households. Get #3 information from each household. Select the group leader who will be responsible for making sure that all 12 households are informed, prepared, and evacuated should there be an emergency. The group leader can set up a phone tree by selecting 3 reliable volunteers to reach the households quickly. These 3 volunteers then contact 4 of the other families in the neighborhood and report back to the volunteers, who in turn report back to the group leader. If there any dead ends (no contact or responses), then volunteers will go to the house to assess the situation and leave notification of the emergency.
What is it about Stanford students or coaches that make judges reduce sentences for criminal behavior? Vandemoer, a former Stanford sailing coach, took bribes from parents to recruit their children so they would be admitted to Stanford University. Sounds guilty – just like the dozens of others in the college admissions scandal, right? But because he spent the dirty money on team expenses and supposedly not for personal gain, Judge Rya Zobel sentenced Vandemoer to just ONE DAY in JAIL!
Seriously, one day in jail? Smells like Brock Turner… he was the infamous Stanford student who served less than 3 months for raping an unconscious student behind a dumpster. His judge, Aaron Persky (who was recalled in June 2018), claimed that a heavy sentence might ruin Brock Turner’s life. Well, isn’t that true for all college students? I wonder if the sentences would have been substantially reduced if a black or brown coach accepted a bribe or a person of color raped a girl under the same circumstances?
