Disaster Preparedness | Knights of Columbus

Overview

From natural disasters to local crises, communities can be brought to a halt when a disaster occurs. Councils can help their communities prepare before one of these disasters strikes. As community leaders, Knights of Columbus will help to ensure that their members, families and parish communities are prepared, educated and ready. For Disaster Preparedness resources, visit www.kofc.org/prepare.

Action Steps

Identify a program chairman to oversee all action steps and delegate tasks, as needed. If coordinating with the parish, confirm pastor approval with grand knight, and then set up subsequent parish ministry collaboration meetings.
Contact your jurisdiction disaster coordinator to inquire about the procedures in place in your jurisdiction in a disaster situation.
Contact your grand knight, financial secretary, or program director to order Disaster Preparedness resources through Supplies Online via Officers Online. Preparation – start each fraternal year with disaster preparation activities (refer to Council Disaster Preparation Guidelines on page 2).
Working with local law enforcement, fire departments and/or the Red Cross, conduct an event to educate the community on disaster preparedness and what to do before, during and after a disaster situation.
Build public interest for the event! Promote the event in your parish and larger community through a variety of efforts:
- Prominently display promotional posters
- Bulletin announcements
- Pulpit announcements
- Posting on your council and parish website / social media pages
On the day of the event, wear Knights of Columbus-branded apparel and have the council membership director set up a table with brochures and membership documents (including Prospect Cards #921A). Do not forget that this event is a recruiting opportunity!
Enlist a fellow Knight or community member to photograph the event.
Following the event, update the community on the success of your program (refer to Public Relations and Publicity Guidelines #2235).
To gain credit for your program, complete the associated reporting forms.
- Immediately after your program is finished, complete the Fraternal Programs Report Form (#10784)
- At the end of the fraternal year, complete the Columbian Award Application (#SP-7)

Council Disaster Preparation Guidelines

Organizing and maintaining a council-level action plan is extremely important to the success of any disaster response efforts within the local community and at the jurisdiction level. There are many steps that a council should take to be prepared in the case of a disaster, including:

Prepare a communication plan:
- Meet with your parish priest on an annual basis to identify specific needs of the parish and determine how the Knights can assist
- Create a phone tree with contact information for all council members. Practice using this phone tree at least twice a year.
- Know the disaster chain of command within your jurisdiction and the council’s role and responsibilities, including individual roles and responsibilities
- Maintain contact lists of the parish’s vulnerable community members (the elderly, disabled, and widow(er)s) to ensure that they are safe prior to a disaster or after a disaster has struck
Provide disaster safety and awareness training to council members and parish community. These trainings should include information on:
- Fire safety
- Disease control
- Natural disaster awareness
Allocate at least $500 dollars in the council’s general funding account in case of a disaster.

Resources

#10641- Brochure
#10931- Donation - Vertical Poster
#10971- Donation - Horizontal Poster
#10974- Promotional - Vertical Poster
#10632- Jurisdiction and Council Disaster Response

Program resources can be ordered by your grand knight, financial secretary and/or program director on Supplies Online via Officers Online.

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