People have scheduled all kinds of September festivities to celebrate National Preparedness Month, showing FEMA they’re ready for any eventuality. On September 10, local chefs used ingredients from nonperishable emergency kits to create gourmet bites at Las Vegas City Hall. The city is also hosting a Twitter chat on September 30 to get government agencies talking among themselves about training for emergency situations.
But the award for most ambitious plan may go to casino corporation Las Vegas Sands and nonprofit Clean the World, which are teaming up in hopes of assembling 100,000 hygiene kits this weekend. Clean the World’s specialty is collecting and repurposing unused toiletries from Las Vegas’ myriad hotel rooms. The hygiene kits that volunteers will put together on Saturday and Sunday will be used for disaster relief efforts both at home and abroad.
“This will have a huge impact,” says Ron Reese, a spokesperson for the Sands. “These kits will be distributed by American Red Cross and during natural disasters around the world, as well as locally at organizations like Shade Tree Shelter.”
Volunteers ages 8 and up will work assembly-line style at the Venetian-Palazzo in two-hour shifts, while organizers keep their spirits up with refreshments, raffles and prizes. As of Thursday morning, 2,300 people had signed up, but Clean the World says there’s room for at least 500 more. For more information, click here or contact Clean the World’s Shae Hagen at 702-221-8777 or shagen@cleantheworld.org.
