During his remarks today, Secretary Strickland pointed out that “#WeCare! is the Maryland Department of Emergency Management’s motto.” He continued, “I am here because #WeCare! We care about the survivors, those we lost, and their families. We care about emergency management. We care about being present, responsive, and supportive to you and your jurisdiction. We care about the well-being of you, your staff, and your residents. We care about making Maryland more resilient so that all communities can thrive. We care about leaving nobody behind.”

Secretary Strickland began the #WeCare Tour today with a visit to Anne Arundel County. Secretary Strickland visited the HERricane Camp at the invitation of the County’s Emergency Management Director Preeti Emrick. As part of the annual HERricane Camp, organizers conducted an exercise that morning with the camp attendees — all young women ages 13-21. The HERricane Camp is an innovative program designed to empower young women by providing them with comprehensive training and education in emergency management. The camp aims to inspire the next generation of female leaders in the field of emergency management, fostering skills in leadership, preparedness, and resilience.

The #WeCare Tour

After visiting Anne Arundel County, Secretary Strickland will travel to Garrett, St. Mary’s, Calvert, Allegany, and Dorchester counties, as well as the City of Annapolis and Baltimore City over the next several weeks. Each trip will allow local officials and emergency managers showcase innovative and consequential local initiatives like HERricane, and the Tour offers a platform in which some of these initiatives can be shared with other jurisdictions in hopes that they can emulate best practices in creating similar programs or EM solutions to current challenges. The #WeCare Tour will further MDEM’s mission to proactively reduce disaster risks and reliably manage consequences through collaborative work with Maryland’s communities and partners.

For more information, residents can also go to MDEM’s website at mdem.maryland.gov, follow MDEM’s Twitter feed at @MDMEMA, or follow MDEM’s Facebook page at facebook.com/MDMEMA. To receive text alerts, tips, and resources related to threats and hazards that may affect Maryland, text “MdReady” to 211-631 or text “MdListo” to receive alerts in Spanish.

Marylanders are also encouraged to install the MdReady WebApp, which gives instant access to a wide array of emergency notifications and preparedness information to residents and visitors alike. To install the new WebApp, users can visit MdReady.maryland.gov and follow the prompt to easily add the MdReady shortcut to a mobile device home screen or to sign up for text alerts in English or Spanish.