Washington
, D.C.
, April 27, 2009
– The American Public Health Association (APHA) is pleased to announce the winners of the Get Ready Scholarship for high school students. The scholarship is a component of APHA’s Get Ready campaign, which works to help Americans prepare themselves, their families and their communities for all health hazards and disasters, including pandemic flu and infectious disease.
This year’s three scholarship recipients, David Amutah of Lawrenceville, N.J., Alyssia B. Whitney of Nashville, Tenn., and Katelyn M. Kersey of Bradenton, Fla., were selected from more than 2,500 applications from students across the nation.
The $500 Get Ready Scholarship aims to encourage high school students to focus on the importance of emergency preparedness. Winners were determined through an essay contest on emergency preparedness. The winning entries can be viewed at www.aphagetready.org.
“We are very pleased to be able to not only help educate our youth about the importance of being prepared, but to also provide three students with financial assistance to help them afford to continue their education,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA.
The Get Ready Scholarship was developed in conjunction with Get Set: An Emergency Preparedness Project Kit. Released as a component of the Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks campaign, the project kit is a how-to guide for high school students interested in taking on preparedness activities at school or in their community.
Learn more about the Get Ready Scholarship at www.aphagetready.org.