How Can You Harness Public Fears for Good?
In the aftermath of 9/11/2001, a community fundraising effort helped fund purchase of HAZMAT suits and radiation detectors for emergency preparedness.
Photo courtesy of Long Island College Hospital
Transforming Anxiety into Disaster Preparedness
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Our basic • premise for this project:
Public fear can be channeled into productive community activity.
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Public Health PR Challenge:
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks and subsequent anthrax scares, public anxiety about terrorist bio-chemical attacks in New York runs high. The media carries alarming stories about the fragility of NYC’s disaster preparedness system carries.
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Our Strategy:
Concerned Brooklyn residents seek to raise funds so a local hospital can purchase special equipment to treat victims of bio-chemical terrorism. We liaise with the hospital’s medical and administrative staff; obtain an itemized “disaster preparedness shopping list;” write press releases and fact sheets, and help organize a charity drive.
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Our Success Story:
With our support, the community raises $40,000. This enables the hospital to buy Hazmat suits, radiation detectors, and off-budget medicines and antidotes. This post- 911 initiative generates media coverage, offering a local model for transforming anxiety into productive community action.
