Florida Teens Turn Hurricane Ian Lessons into a Free Family Preparedness Resource

Ready Together helps families prepare together - combining practical hurricane plans with age-appropriate tools that help kids know what to expect without carrying adult responsibilities.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As National Preparedness Month begins, Kids4Kids Relief has released a free family resource born from a lesson its young founders learned after Hurricane Ian: practical checklists can cover supplies and evacuation without answering the questions children may carry while adults handle urgent safety and recovery decisions.

That experience inspired Ready Together: A Youth-Led Hurricane Preparedness & Mental Wellness Workbook for Families, released Aug. 21. Designed as a flexible toolkit rather than a book families must read from beginning to end, it lets households start with the 15-page Quick Reference Guide, one family conversation or a single checklist, then use additional sections as their needs change.

"During Ian, our parents knew we were physically safe, so it was easy to think we were okay. But we watched the urgency of preparing for the storm and the long recovery afterward, and we felt that anxiety too," said Sam Crimaldi, 17, co-founder of Kids4Kids Relief and Ready Together's primary author and project lead. "We found plenty of checklists that told families what to buy. We wanted to create something families could go through together."

Ready Together combines practical preparation - evacuation zones, family communication, supplies, medications, pets, documents, power outages and before-during-after timelines - with age-appropriate tools for comfort planning, trusted-adult support, routines and peer-support boundaries. The project includes 10 chapters, standalone printable downloads and 12 short educational videos.

"Knowing the plan does not put kids in charge of the storm, but it can give them a clearer sense of what to expect," said Jolie Crimaldi, 15, Kids4Kids Relief's director of community outreach. "The goal is not to make kids responsible for the emergency. It is to help them feel included, informed and supported."

Sam developed the resource with significant contributions from Jolie and Julianna Crimaldi, 14, Kids4Kids Relief's director of social media. Additional youth contributors reviewed language, tested worksheets and helped make selected tools clearer and more practical.

By including children in calm, age-appropriate planning, Ready Together helps them understand what may happen, what their safe role is and which adults will handle the major decisions. Knowing what to expect cannot remove every worry, but it can reduce uncertainty and help kids feel calmer, more secure and more in control before and after a storm.

The workbook, Quick Reference Guide, chapter downloads and videos are available free at kids4kidsrelief.org/ready.

About Kids4Kids Relief

Kids4Kids Relief, Inc. is a youth-led Florida not-for-profit corporation founded after Hurricane Ian to help children and families prepare for, respond to and recover after natural disasters. Its programs include Ready Together, Normalcy Kits, milestone-recovery projects, student-led service and community chapters.

Media Contact:
Alisa Crimaldi

Communications Advisor
[email protected] | 239-269-7911

SOURCE Kids4Kids Relief