HISTORY: Two grassroots organizations dedicated to citizen disaster preparedness were created in the North and South Coachella Valley in 2000. In 2014 they combined and in 2017 the new organization, renamed the Coachella Valley Disaster Preparedness Network (CVDPN) became a 501 (c)3 non-profit.

For the prior 17 years there had been little or no emphasis on education and training provided to the Spanish speaking residents of the Valley about disaster preparedness by the previous committees. The greatest threat to the Coachella Valley residents is earthquakes.

We are currently working hard to extend our programs, education and outreach to a wider more inclusive population: farmworkers, mobile home parks, community organizations, businesses and the elderly and vulnerable in Assisted Living, Nursing, and Home Care facilities. Our goal is to teach them the importance of personal and corporate preparation that are for disasters and understand how they can take simple, important steps for preparation that are critical to their ability to survive.

We teach in person, online and in the communities, providing education and networking on behalf of the Riverside County Office on Aging, The Riverside County Emergency Management Department, the Federal Emergency Management Association, the National Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Earthquake Country Alliance, the American Red Cross, The Hero In You Foundation (Rocket Rules) and many more.

We participate in appropriate community events dozens of times each year providing germane materials and instruction. We do presentations to all other groups who wish them such as homeowner and community associations, businesses, the Chambers of Commerce, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), Riverside Emergency Managers' Association and more. We collaborate with the municipalities, the community councils of the incorporated areas and government and non-governmental agencies throughout the Valley.

Our impact on our Valley is exponential. When we train 30 people and provide them with the tools to create their personalized Disaster Plans, they share it to the benefit hundreds or thousands of citizens. At community events like the College of the Desert Great California Shake Out we provided hundreds of people with educational materials and guidance. At the Little League Opening Day we handed out age-appropriate disaster training to hundreds of children and their parents.

To say our community outreach is provided to about 50,000 Coachella Valley residents a year would not be an overstatement as we are also frequently quoted or reported on by our local televisions news and newspapers.
CVDPN and ECA have a win-win community partnership. Visit earthquakecountry.org for more information.

We rely on the experts, such as ECA, for the educational information that we distribute throughout the Coachella Valley.