People from across Moore County will learn what can be done "while the sun shines" to be bettered prepared for emergencies at an Emergency Preparedness Fair Saturday, April 25.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has partnered with the Moore County Department of Public Safety to host the event from noon until 5 p.m. at the church located at 9800 U.S. 15-501 in Pinehurst. The fair is open to the public at no cost and with no advance registration needed.

"The time to build an ark is now, while the sun shines and not after it starts to rain," said Stacey Dickerson, the church's local director of public affairs. "We all know that disasters will come, be it tornadoes, ice storms, hurricanes, or fires. If every home and neighborhood was better prepared with food, water, and people trained to assist one another, government help could be focused on those in need of professional first responders."

The Emergency Preparedness Fair will include displays of emergency equipment and workshops on 72-hour kits and long-term food storage by experienced LDS Church members, weather emergency information from the National Weather Service, county emergency procedures by Moore County officials, and an orientation to the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. Each of the workshops will be 45 minutes long and will be presented five times so attendees can VISIT all if desired. The workshops will begin each hour from noon to 4 p.m.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been encouraged for generations to have a personal and family emergency plan and to store up to one year of food, water, medicines and other emergency essentials.

"With this training over so many years has developed an expertise in how to prepare, what to store, how to store it, and how to maintain emergency food and supplies so they are ready when needed," said Dickerson. Public information about the LDS Church's information on emergency preparedness and food storage can be found at www.providentliving.org.

Moore County was invited to participate in the Emergency Preparedness Fair in order to offer, in a single setting, all the information someone may need to be prepared in an emergency. Attendees will understand what they can do to prepare themselves and their homes, assist their neighbors, understand threatening weather information, and know what to expect from county resources.

Local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are partnering with the Moore County Department of Public Safety to provide trained adult volunteers to assist with relief efforts in times of disaster.

Beginning with the April 25 fair, church and community members will be organized and trained into CERT Teams under the Citizens Corp Community Emergency Response Team Program. Information about the CERT Program may be found at www.citizencorps.gov.

The local Emergency Preparedness Fair is part of a Day of Service initiative in which many thousands of Latter-Day Saints from hundreds of congregations across the Southeastern United States, will be providing service in their local communities on April 25. Summaries of many of the projects can be seen at www.dayofservice.org.