Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, has announced an official affiliation between the American Red Cross and President Bush's Citizen Corps initiative. At the National Citizen Corps Conference in Washington, D.C., Under Secretary Brown signed this affiliate partnership with Marsha Evans, President and CEO of ARC.

The partnership between Citizen Corps and ARC will help raise public awareness about appropriate actions to take regarding disaster preparedness and response, public health issues, life supporting first aid, and volunteer service. ARC will help promote the formation of local Citizen Corps Councils through local ARC chapter participation and assist these councils by providing public education and citizen training in emergency preparedness and lifesaving skills, to include support for Community Emergency Response Team training.

"The affiliation between Citizen Corps and the American Red Cross through President Bush's Citizen Corps initiative will help raise public awareness about disaster preparedness and response," Brown said. "I've worked with the American Red Cross for years, and I look forward to helping expand the role citizens play within their community to be more secure and better able to respond to disasters of all kinds."

The National Citizen Corps Conference, held in Washington, D.C. this week, brings together 250 state, local, and federal representatives from across the country, affiliate Citizen Corps programs, and the National Citizen Corps Council. The Conference allows participants to share information and best practices, as well as discuss collaboration among state, tribal, and local Citizen Corps Councils to identify opportunities for volunteer service to support first responders.

The agreement adds the ARC as an affiliate to the four federal charter Citizen Corps programs: Neighborhood Watch and Volunteers in Police Service, administered by the Department of Justice; Community Emergency Response Teams, administered by FEMA; and Medical Reserve Corps, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. The ARC also joins the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Local Emergency Planning Committees of the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools of the Department of Education, Amateur Radio Relay League, National Safety Council, Points of Light Foundation, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, National Volunteer Fire Council, National Fire Protection Association, Save A Life Foundation, and The U.S. Junior Chamber as Citizen Corps affiliate programs.

Under the direction of FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, Citizen Corps is a community-based initiative to engage all citizens in homeland security and community and family preparedness through public education and outreach, training opportunities and volunteer programs. Programs under the Citizen Corps umbrella include federally sponsored programs and other activities that share the goal of helping communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to all-hazards.

Citizen Corps encourages all Americans to take an active role in building safer, stronger, and better-prepared communities.