Be prepared for all disasters and emergencies
Launched in 2006, APHA's Get Ready campaign helps Americans prepare themselves, their families and their communities for all hazards, including infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters and other emergencies.
The APHA 2026 Get Ready Calendar is designed to help you stay prepared for emergencies while embracing the importance of rest. Featuring adorable, sleepy animals, each month offers a charming reminder that balance is key — get ready for the year ahead while taking time to rest and recharge.
Read the frequently asked questions below, and submit your calendar photo by emailing it to [email protected]. Please include your name, address and phone number as well as the name of the animal, if applicable. Photos should be attached as the largest file size available and in .jpg (JPEG) format to your email.
View the full content rules and regulations.
View last year's calendar and download a copy as a PDF file.
The APHA 2025 Get Ready Calendar is designed to help you stay prepared for emergencies while embracing the importance of rest. Featuring adorable, sleepy animals, each month offers a charming reminder that balance is key — get ready for the year ahead while taking time to rest and recharge.
Learn more about submitting content for the Get Ready calendar photo contest.
The Get Ready calendar highlights different ways people and animals can prepare for disasters. The calendar theme changes every year and your photos should align with the theme.
We’re accepting submissions of all types of animals, pets or otherwise. For example, it can be your kittens or puppies, farm animals or animals at your local zoo. The more variety the better! Please do not include people in the photos, or include a caption on the photo. We’ll add that here so they all have the same font and size in the calendar.
The better quality your photo is, the more likely you can win. The best photos are larger than 1MB. When you email your submission, make sure you submit the largest file size possible. We’ll accept vertical and horizontal photos, but a vertical (portrait) photo will be a better fit on this year's calendar. You can only submit photos that you took yourself. Submission of AI-generated images or another person’s photos is not permitted. Please note: photographers should maintain the safety of the animals and themselves when taking their photos.
Contest entries should be submitted via email to [email protected]. Include your name, address and phone number as well as the name of the animal, if applicable. Photos should be attached as the largest file size available and in .jpg (JPEG) format to your email.
You will retain ownership of your photo. But by submitting your photo you are granting APHA unlimited, irrevocable, uncompensated licensing rights to your photo. That gives APHA permission to use it for things like marketing, promotion, editorial use and communication, etc. We may sell or give away a calendar or T-shirt, etc., that has your photo on it to promote preparedness.
The photos will be judged for quality, applicability to preparedness and general appeal. A committee from APHA’s Get Ready team will pick the winning photos. The contest is open for submissions July 7th-July 18th, 2025. Winners will be announced on the Get Ready website after the contest closes.
Winning photos will be featured in the Get Ready calendar. There are no other prizes.
