Rah Rah for Preparedness!

Over the years, I've wanted to have some fun activities for preparedness, and I've found only one activity online.  Motivation has to be fun!  I'll be posting a few activities I've done to try to motivate people to prepare over the years. This is the first. 


Be Your Family's Food Storage Quarterback
Do you have trouble motivating the men of your family or the men in your ward to prepare? They have been asked to be involved, and truly, we need them on board:

 "We call upon priesthood bearers to store sufficient so that you and your family can weather the vicissitudes of life.... Wives are instrumental in this work, but they need husbands who lead out in family preparedness. Children need parents who instill in them this righteous tradition."--   Bishop Keith B. McMullin, April General Conference, 2007.

In this activity, we try to get everyone in the family involved in preparedness, and we hope to encourage the husband (if there is a husband in the home) to be the "quarterback" for preparedness.  Sometimes, the quarterback will be moving the ball himself, but often, he passes the ball to other team members.  Yet, always, always, he is aware of everything going on with his team and keeps playing that strategy role.  Yard by yard, the quarterback works to accomplish the family goal of being prepared.
 
This activity is meant to begin in late summer and end right before the Super Bowl.  Use this just for your family or make it a neighborhood or ward activity where each family is given the sheet below. 

Remember:  Football is just like food storage – you score one play at a time.  

Whether your family has set a  1-month, 2-month, or 3-month supply goal, use this sheet to get moving:

• "Kicked Off” – your family has a 3-month supply plan and a shopping list.     
• Moved 10 yards – you have all of one category on your shopping list. 
• Moved 20 yards – you have all of a second category on your shopping list.  
• And so on...

The team (family) plans and then executes that plan.  The team captains (parents) sometimes run with the ball themselves and, other times, toss the ball off to another member of the family – everyone should be involved, even if they are not the one "carrying the ball." Kids can label cans and help put them in the storage area, and they can help inventory, among other things. They can move the ball on the family score sheet.  If you put this on the refrigerator and put a magnet behind your ball, it works very well. 

Here are the balls :    Score with your food storage!