I hesitated to do it for a long time, because I like the clean look and layout of my blog. But I went ahead and added a banner to the sidebar of the site – particularly because I work for the Red Cross and today marks the start of hurricane season.

I still refuse to accept advertising, even though my anecdotal stats indicate I have seven or eight of the most influential people in the history of the planet reading my blog. Traffic isn’t nearly as important as influence, anyway.

I hope this banner does have a little bit of an impact, though. Particularly if you haven’t taken the steps to prepare your family for a disaster. Clicking on the banner will take you to a neat little flash presentation outlining three action steps:

1. Get a Kit
2. Make a Plan
3. Be Informed

Here are some stats that are a little scary:

• Only seven percent of Americans are considered “Red Cross Ready” for a disaster, meaning they have a disaster supplies kit, a communication plan and are prepared to respond to disasters and everyday emergencies.
• 64% of Americans have no evacuation plan, even though 27% have had to leave home for at least one night because of a disaster or other emergency.
• 69% of Americans living in hurricane-prone states don’t have a disaster supplies kit, and sixty percent don’t have an evacuation plan.
• 60% of American households have a pet, yet only 37% have a plan to care for their pets in case of a disaster.
• 90% of Americans who have a disaster kit feel prepared, but only 28% have one.

It’s just that easy. So go do it already. I’ll still be here, and when you get back, you’ll still be one of the seven or eight most influential people. And to prove that you are that influential, I ask you to link back to this post and drive other people to the action steps. (I’m counting clicks…)

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, American Red Cross, disaster, disaster preparedness, hurricane[/tags]