Hey Everyone, Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Ways 2021! Its Eric from the 30 Days Gang, here to get this year’s challenge started. Today we kick off our 12th year of this challenge. Last year I mentioned that many of the group that normally brings this challenge together had actively been involved with the COVID-19 response in our community since March of 2020. While some of the official activities surrounding our work related to COVID ended in July, it once again impacted many of the pieces leading up to this annual challenge. That said…we decided we still would once again bring you our annual challenge. This year with a focus on community. This year we want you to not only take the challenge personally, we want you to challenge the community around you… Your family, your work or school, your place of worship, your neighborhood, and yes, even your town or city!! So Let’s get started…

In today’s world information can feel like a fire hose, hitting us hard from every angle with different and conflicting messages. The media seems, like no matter which network has their own spin on what used to be just the facts. Conspiracy theories and so called Subject Matter Experts are everywhere. Even when it comes to emergency information, there can be “noise” everywhere.

DAY 1 Challenge:1-3, or 5 pts    So today we want to ask… How do you sift through all of this media noise to find the accurate information? How do you make sure you are getting a well rounded version of the truth. How do you find the information you need related to emergency notices?

Level Up: 5 pts For today’s level up… we want you to share your tips and tricks of finding verified sources. Where do you go to find the details.. How to you make sure what you see on Social Media or even in the news is accurate? This would also be a good time to connect with your local emergency manager or public health agency.. and let them know you are taking the 30 Days Challenge.

Find Allies:  Recruit friends and family members to play 30 Days, 30 Ways…. Challenge your family, your place of work or school, your place of worship, your neighborhood and your community to take the 30 Days challenge! Build Your Network!!  Each day a person you recruit completes a 30 Days 30 Ways task, your points double for that days task. The more individuals you convince to play, the more points you can earn for each days challenge.

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 3 ways you can complete this task:

1. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
2. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.
3. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer.

The 30 Days, 30 Ways Preparedness Challenge fun got started in 2010.

That Summer, the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency hosted a summer book club on Amanda Ripley’s book, The Unthinkable.  This book is an incredible read as it describes a number of “disaster personalities” and the way people respond during crisis situations.  Ms. Ripley challenges traditional emergency preparedness recommendations and suggests that disaster resilience is a set of behaviors that include awareness, meditation, flexible thinking and good health.

During the course of our summer book club, the messages shared among participants was loud and clear.  Emergency Managers spend a great deal of time preaching the preparedness message, but never listen to whether the community is actually preparing.

Simultaneously, the guy in the picture up there? He was hosting a social media game called “Spot the Ham Sandwich” in which he posted a reference to ham somewhere on either his website, Facebook Fan Page or on his Twitter profile.  Now, Jason Hillard works with mortgage loans and I wasn’t in the market for a loan.  But in playing in his online game and seeking out his daily hidden clue, I learned more about loans of all varieties.

On August 31st, the day before the start of the 2010 National Preparedness Month, it struck me driving to work……what if we asked people to actually complete preparedness tasks and made it fun?  Could it work?  Would people engage?

30 days later, we had over 600 preparedness tasks completed by over 80 participants.  The message was clear to us.  We just had to ask.  In the coming days, we’ll share more about that experience and the specific statistics.  But tonight we want to ask……are you willing to engage and do just one thing each day in September.

There will be a number of ways to get game information:

• Share this website: www.30days30ways.com
• Enter your email address in the right hand column to have it delivered to you daily
• Follow the #30days30way hashtag on Twitter, or
• Like the Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/30days30ways