Teaching children about emergency preparedness and empowering them to know how to react appropriately in an emergency situation, remains a critical element of any overall preparedness program. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently welcomed their two newest “employees” who are charged with serving as ambassadors to America’s youth: Flat Stanley and Flat Stella. Their introduction represents part of the larger ongoing outreach effort on the part of FEMA to Americas’ youth.

According to the Flatter World Inc. website, “Flat Stanley is an iconic children's character that originated in a book by Jeff Brown, first published in 1964. In 1994, Dale Hubert, a third grade teacher in Ontario, Canada, began the Flat Stanley Project.” FEMA has joined forces with Flatter World, Inc. to promote “a collaborative effort to create interactive experiences for students, including a mobile application that provides youth with state of the art interactive and informative experiences both inside and outside the classroom in the area of emergency preparedness.”

Among the many applications, children, with the assistance of parents, can download and create their own free customized character on the Flat Stanley website or through the Flat Stanley Mobile Application. “They can share their experiences creating a preparedness kit and their virtual adventure tour with other Flat Stanley users. Children can also create a character and send it on a virtual FEMA tour and learn how to get better prepared. On the virtual tour, characters interact with agency personnel, learn about field operations and visit other families who are putting together their own emergency preparedness plans and kits.” Both Stanley and Stella also have an interactive space on the Flat Stanley website, and an official e-mail account at FEMA (stanleyandstella@fema.dhs.gov) where parents and their children can contact FEMA to ask questions or offer their stories.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, said, “Flat Stanley and Flat Stella are great communication tools that are being added to FEMA’s Whole Community approach to emergency management. Reaching out to children, parents of young children, and teachers is essential in instilling a message of self-reliance, resilience and preparedness. We are using new media and emerging technologies to target and engage youth in our outreach efforts and incorporating their ideas for preparedness and emergency management.”