Key Takeaways
- National Preparedness Month occurs every September, urging families to prepare for disasters by creating emergency plans and assembling kits.
- The initiative emphasizes the importance of safeguarding irreplaceable items like family photos during emergencies.
- A significant percentage of Americans have supplies but lack a family plan, increasing vulnerability during disasters.
- To protect family memories, digitizing photographs and storing them securely is crucial, as recovery from disasters isn’t guaranteed.
- This September, commit to safeguarding your memories along with emergency preparedness measures for your legacy.
Quick read: Each September, National Preparedness Month reminds families to get ready for disasters. But it’s not just about kits and batteries. It is about protecting what truly matters, like the family photos that tell your story.
What Is National Preparedness Month?
National Preparedness Month (NPM), observed every September, is a nationwide initiative led by FEMA and Ready.gov. Created in 2004, it evolved from lessons learned following the 9/11 attacks and subsequent natural disasters. The campaign urges every household, school, and business to develop a plan in advance of emergencies. As FEMA explains: “Preparedness is more than a checklist—it’s a commitment to protecting the people and moments that matter most.” At its core, NPM urges people to:
- Assemble an emergency kit that includes food, water, and first aid supplies.
- Create a communication plan so families know how to reconnect.
- Learn skills like CPR and first aid.
- Stay informed about local risks, from hurricanes to wildfires.
- Disaster-proof your irreplaceable nostalgia like family photos.
Why It Matters
Emergencies arrive without warning. A 2016 national survey revealed that while three in four Americans stock supplies, fewer than half have a family plan in place. That leaves millions vulnerable when disaster hits. Preparedness Month bridges that gap. It’s not just about surviving—it’s about safeguarding the irreplaceable parts of life.
The Emotional Side: What Would You Save?
Imagine your home catches fire tonight. Flames surround your belongings. You have seconds to choose one thing to rescue. For many, that choice is family photo slides and reels of home movie film, as well as albums.
“I would grab my photo box before anything else,” says Jane Rodriguez of Phoenix, Arizona. “Furniture and clothes can be replaced, but once those pictures burn, the memories vanish forever.” Insurance replaces items with price tags. But it cannot replace the photos that carry emotional value. This is why September is more than a reminder — it’s a lifeline.
The Hidden Risk to Family Photos
Disaster isn’t the only threat. Photos can fade in the attic, warp in the heat, or get lost to time. FEMA even publishes guides on salvaging family treasures after floods and fires. But recovery is never guaranteed. The most reliable step is prevention — digitizing analog photos before disaster strikes with a photo scanning service like ScanMyPhotos.com.
CBS Evening News: A Real-World Example
In a CBS Evening News feature, reporter Dave Malkoff highlighted the fragility of history. One segment showcased how ScanMyPhotos digitized 347,000 film negatives for the Cayman Compass, preserving 57 years of photojournalism archives from hurricanes. It wasn’t just about safeguarding pictures — it was about protecting a nation’s memory.
How to Get Involved This September
Here’s how families and communities can act during National Preparedness Month:
Visit Ready.gov for toolkits, planning guides, and checklists.
Join a local preparedness event—from CERT drills to Red Cross training.
Talk with your family. Walk through the evacuation routes and practice them.
Add memory protection to your plan. Digitize photos and videos, then store copies in the cloud and off-site drives. Make extra copies of the flash drives.
Preparedness Is About Your Photo History
Preparedness Month is about more than batteries and bottled water. It’s about protecting your family’s legacy. “Preparing for a natural disaster is a year-round imperative,” says Mitch Goldstone, Chief Photo Archivist & CEO of ScanMyPhotos.com. “Family photographs document our lives in a way material possessions cannot. Once they’re gone, that chapter of history is lost forever.”
Final Call to Action
This September, commit to more than stocking supplies. Commit to protecting the one thing no insurance policy can replace: your memories. When considering preparedness, think beyond mere survival. Think about legacy.
National Preparedness Month, FEMA, Ready.gov, disaster preparedness, family photo preservation, digitize photos, disaster planning
ScaanMyPhotos blog on “96% of Printed Photos Are Never Looked At Again.”
