Prepare in a Year 2026
Get your household ready for emergencies with this easy-to-follow monthly plan.
We invite Individuals and/or households to participate by completing monthly preparedness activities and earning the chance to win prizes.
The goal is to encourage participation in the program to make sure we are the most prepared community in the State of Washington.
Here’s how it works:
1. Every month there is an activity for individuals and/or households to complete that corresponds with the monthly Prepare in a Year theme set by the Washington Department of Emergency Management.
2. Included with the activity will be instructions on how to document completion of the activity. Submit the documentation through an easy-to-use form, and you will be entered to win the monthly prize. You may submit for the current month or any 2024 month in the future. (At the end of the first Friday of each month, the previous month’s activity will no longer be available for submissions.)
3. Download a Prepare in a Year Passport below or pick one up at City Hall (starting in January). Mark each month you complete. Submit a photo of the completed passport (with at least 10 months of activities) at the end of the year (via the End-of-Year form) to be entered to win the Grand Prize.
4. Give your completed passport to your neighborhood captain at the end of the year. The neighborhood with the highest percentage of households with completed passports will win the Neighborhood Grand Prize.
Here are the monthly themes (click to see each month’s activity, documentation requirement, and prize):
January: Water
February: Food
March: Communications
April: Medical
May: Transportation
June: Safety
July: Energy
August: Meeting Places
September: Leadership
October: Map Your Neighborhood
November: Education & Training
December: Resilience
End of Year: Complete Passport