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Homeland Security Initiative

PSLA is involved with two Homeland Security grants funded by
Learn and Serve America.

1. Youth Organized for Disaster Action
2. Learning Through Service—Strengthening the Homeland
   
   

Youth Organized for Disaster Action (YODA): Pennsylvania and New Jersey
YODA is facilitated by the Institute for Global Education and Service-Learning, in collaboration with New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service and PennSERVE: the Governor's Office of Citizen Service. The program is being piloted in New Jersey and Pennsylvania schools with a history of successful service-learning programs. Goals of the program include:

• Engage 4,500 students in 12 school districts in high quality service-learning activities that encompass mitigation and prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery
• Prepare 200 families in each sub-grant community for emergencies and disasters through development of family disaster plans and emergency kits
• Develop 12 Youth Organized for Disaster Action teams
• Create a service-learning handbook to provide an all-hazards approach to disaster preparedness and response
• PSLA will be working with the sub-grantee schools in Pennsylvania, helping them to integrate these homeland security activities into the service-learning programs already present at these schools.

For more information, visit http://www.igesl.org/html/homeland_security_programs.html

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• Incorporate the American Red Cross Masters of Disaster curriculum into three schools in 12 local school district's existing lesson plans.
• Acquire Global Information System (GIS) software and provide GIS training to students and teachers who can in turn utilize this mapping software to support school administration and local emergency preparedness community efforts.
• Establish a Red Cross Club in one high school in each of the 12 local school districts to conduct community disaster education presentations to civic groups, senior/special need populations, school teachers and administration, and other community members.
• Elevate awareness of emergency preparedness activities and response actions to prepare senior/special need populations within the 12 identified communities.

Participating School Districts in Pennsylvania:

• Red Lion
• Dallastown
• Lancaster City
• Springfield
• William Penn