The organization MPC Ready formed January 25, 2020 as a volunteer-based, neighborhood-level disaster preparedness organization focused on helping to fill needed gaps in our community’s disaster preparedness. We wanted to build a grass-roots organization, similar to Atherton’s A.D.A.P.T. organization, that would provide an organized way for Menlo Park residents to engage in emergency and disaster preparedness activities. MPC Ready provides a “community” of people, across all of Menlo Park, who collectively continue to learn and to advance our area’s disaster preparedness.
Menlo Park also includes unincorporated San Mateo County “islands” within or adjacent to Menlo Park. Thus, we include these areas in our disaster preparedness efforts. Please see our Purpose Statement. MPC Ready has earned widespread respect by counterpart organizations.
Originally, MPC Ready stood for Menlo Park and unincorporated San Mateo County Ready. We have since changed the meaning the clearer and broader: Menlo Park Community Ready or MPC Ready. We focus our efforts within the 94025 City of Menlo Park Zip code. We formed with the goal of building disaster preparedness at the household and neighborhood level. Our model is based on best practices, including the Map Your Neighborhood Approach. During Covid-19, many (about 400) residents came forward as block coordinators to informally support neighbors in safe sheltering in place. Block Coordinators also initiated safe social events, such as a weekly gathering in a driveway where participants stood safely apart. Some attended our Zoom-based meetings and helped as volunteers in vaccination clinics.
During the years 2020-2022, we continued a program of monthly community meetings and block coordinator support. We also focused on building trusting relationships with counterpart organizations across San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, and with elected officials and staff working in the emergency management field. Many MPC Ready leaders, and block and neighborhood coordinators, have also taken the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.
We focus on these core areas:
1. Building awareness and interest in disaster preparedness:
2. Building socially connected neighborhoods;
3. Growing and supporting neighborhood-level disaster resiliency; and
4. Supporting climate change and disaster preparedness efforts focused on the most vulnerable within our community.