Did you know that 70% of power outages are weather related? Short power outages aren’t too bad, just inconvenient, but longer ones are stressful. Did you know that accidents are the leading cause of death of children? Severe weather can cause hundreds to thousands of people to be harmed in some way. It’s sad to think how these two facts can correlate.

I do hope that you and your family have safety and survival kits (or at least items you can easily find) located in your homes. I admit, we have items on hand such as bottled water, batteries, flashlights, and a weather radio, but they aren’t in a kit. Though, I used to keep spare blankets in the trunk of my car during winter. Thankfully I have not dealt with too much severe winter weather, but I have experienced a straight line wind storm (similar to a tornado). It was very scary and the aftermath was stressful. A tree fell on our house putting a hole in the roof. Another tree totaled my car by falling on it. That wasn’t the worst of it though! The worst was going without power for about a week. We lost all the food in our refrigerator and freezer. At least it was summer, so we weren’t freezing to death.

I was a college student when I went through that, so I was able to take care of myself pretty well. Did we have a survival kit? No. A lot of people do not, especially people in need. They concentrate on providing for NOW, not “what if” because it’s what they can afford. Well, I’m working on another great mission this month to help someone out. This month’s Champions for Kids Simple Service Projects is sponsored by Energizer. So, that means I’m putting together a “Winter Survival Kit” to donate to a child in the community. I’m thinking basics like batteries, flashlight, water, granola bars, and a blanket for the kit.

I’ve been trying to donate to a different place each month with these projects in order to spread the love around. I will be putting together a kit and donating it to the elementary school in my neighborhood. While I know it seems like a school should be prepared, I know budgets have been tight (and cut in many cases) and I want to ensure they have enough supplies. I wish I could equip the entire school with individual kits, but I can’t afford that. At least I can help alleviate their budget strain a little bit. Or, perhaps they will give the kit to a family they know is in need.

You never know when severe weather will strike and it could be while the kids are in school. I’ve attended classes in my winter jacket before due to the furnace going out… it could have been a lot worse.

Twitter Party!

Thursday, February 9th (that’s tonight!) at 9pm EST. RSVP for prizes! Followhashtag #EnergizerCFK or use this Tweet Grid to easily follow along at the party.

Take Action!

Join me in helping at least one child in need in your community. Gather up some safety and survival items and donate them to a school, church, or shelter. If you do this, please let me know!

What would you include in a Winter Survival Kit? Who will you make one for?

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Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All thoughts and experiences shared are my own honest opinion.

About Darcy

Darcy Zalewski is a married, stay-at-home mom who is discovering her greener side, starting with advocating for cloth diapering. When she's not changing diapers or singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider, she can be found at Tales From the Nursery, where she shares tales of motherhood as well as product reviews, or at ShePromotes, a resource for blogger support.

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