that help communities,” he said. “One of my projects
was to raise rolls of toilet paper. One of my colleagues
even opened her own food bank.”
Rios’ passion for preparedness is contagious, and
Shankar is looking forward to working with Rios this
year. “His work ethic and passion for preparedness makes
others excited about projects,” she said. “He won’t stop
until the entire nation – no, the entire world – knows
about preparedness.”
This year, Rios’ will be focusing on getting the word
out about FEMA’s new youth programs for kindergarten
through second graders, as well as eight to 12 year olds.
“We will help increase publicity for the Prepare with
Pedro program and working to get those items into
schools and emergency management agencies,” he said.
The K-2 Prepare with Pedro program is an activity
and coloring book to begin teaching younger children
how to be prepared, while the activity for the older
youth is a card game that helps them understand they
are the help until the help arrives, said Rios.
“He will do a great job on th