Citizens Options Unlimited Commemorates Patriot Day With Emergency Preparedness Events
Over 170 people from the local community joined our family of organizations for a three-day September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance celebration to honor and remember the first responders from 9/11.
“This was a time for the community to come together and understand how to better be prepared in the case of an emergency,” Jerri Walker, Project Coordinator and Volunteer at Citizens Options Unlimited and AHRC Nassau, said.
The event was open to community members throughout Nassau County. We kicked off our three-day event with a First Responder Thank You Brunch for local first responders and their families, followed by an Emergency Preparedness Fair and Emergency Kit-Making Event, where attendees received bags with first-aid kits, masks, and other emergency items.
Our family of organizations partnered with several key local businesses and nonprofits for this event: The New York State Office for Emergency Management, Lifesaving Enterprises, Long Island Volunteer Center, Nassau County SPCA, Health & Welfare Council of Long Island, and The Swoondle Society.
A special thank you to the Brookville Police Department and Jericho Fire Department for attending and for all that you do to keep our local community safe!
This was the first event of its kind for our family of organizations and was created with the help of a FY 2023 Days of Service Grant provided by The Arc of the United States and AmeriCorps. We hope to continue with this instrumental project in the future to both educate our community and honor first responders.
The highlight of the event for the people supported by our agency was Lifesaving Enterprises’ hands-on demonstration of how to perform CPR in the case of an emergency, where attendees were able to receive training and replicate giving CPR on dummies.
“The people we support felt really empowered by this training,” Jerri said.