Three Los Angeles area radio stations (KABC 790, ESPN 710, KLOS 95.5) are running a radiothon they're calling "Operation: Get Your Kit Together."

The Press Release

Details about the kits

Your thoughts?

I'm glad that they're trying to get people prepared and raise money. On the other hand, the kits themselves seem a tad weak. For instance, while a compass is included in the $30 kit, you don't get a box of waterproof matches included unless you donate $60. The $60, $110 and $180 kits also include only 18 packets of water. A note on the bottom of the kit details reads *KITS CAN BE UPGRADED FOR MORE THAN ONE PERSON, but I don't know what's in an upgrade. I'd be curious to know what's on the "Recommended List of Additions."

All this stuff is better than nothing, I guess, but there's always the chance a person is going to buy a kit, put it in the closet, and forget about it. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

As I write this, one radio host has admitted that even after the hurricane, he hasn't prepared his own kit. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Like you said, something's better than nothing.

Hopefully this raises the "coolness" factor of having a kit and encourages people...

Something IS better than nothing. At the very least the idea of being a bit prepared is being pushed out to the public.

People no longer stare at me when I mention the words "preparedness," "emergencies," and "disasters" together in the same sentence. They say, "Oh yeah, the hurricanes."

Until the end of hurricane season, anyway. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig

Building a kit sounds like a great boy/girl scout project...