Three area students were participants in an intense program recently, one that will help them to be prepared for all kinds of emergency situations.

During National Preparedness Month’s Back-to-School week, Alabama wrapped up the first week of its second-annual Be Ready Camp, and graduated more than 50 Youth Preparedness Delegates on Saturday, September 8. Students graduated from the Be Ready Camp the morning after completing a full-scale disaster exercise.

The three students participating from Crenshaw County were Ashley Gorey of Luverne High School, Savannah Tillery of Highland Home School, and Savannah Owens of Brantley School. The young ladies are part of the Girl Scouts Junior Troop 9169 in Crenshaw County, which is led by Stephaine Jones, owner of DSA Graphics in Luverne.

“This was a great program for them because they got to experience some really intense, real-life situations,” Jones said. “They experienced things that most adults will never go through.”

All three students received their diplomas at the end of the camp’s program.

Be Ready Camp is an educational experience for sixth-grade students focused on building preparedness skills for natural and man-made disasters. The Be Ready Camp curriculum includes an introduction to survival and first aid, disaster psychology and terrorism awareness, as well as instruction on creating a family emergency plan and an emergency supply kit.

Be Ready Camp ends with a disaster exercise, with kids stepping into the shoes of public safety professionals, such as police officers, firefighters, dive teams, doctors, soldiers and first responder volunteers. The mock disaster allowed students to use the skills they learned during their time at camp and also allowed them to work side-by-side with actual first responders. During this exercise, the first responders quickly arrived on-scene when students called for their assistance to rescue victims in the woods and water, and smoke-filled buildings.

All Be Ready Camp activities, including the mock disaster exercises and graduations, are held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.