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NBCI Joins With Ceisus To Offer Churches And Families Emergency Water Supplies


Partnership Will Improve Disaster Preparedness, Well-Being

The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African-Americans, announced plans to partner with Cedisus, LLC to help bring access to emergency water supplies to its congregants and churches so members can be more prepared in disaster events, in addition to improving overall health.

"Community preparedness in our churches is critical to the well-being and health security of African-Americans" said Rev. Anthony Evans, NBCI president. "We are excited to partner with Cedisus to bring their great resources and know-how to our member congregations, and are confident that both organizations will help to educate and prepare our membership base for what the future may hold."

African-American communities are disproportionately vulnerable to natural disasters, and are significantly less likely to be prepared than their White counterparts. Blacks were the least likely to stockpile emergency supplies according to a recent study led by the University of Colorado. During Hurricane Katrina, disaster unpreparedness displaced 300,000 African-Americans who faced a double threat from a lack of clean drinking water.

"Preparedness is key to avoiding more tragedy after a natural disaster occurs. Our goal in partnering with NBCI is to help communities lessen the blow when that tragedy strikes" said Jerry Clark, principle at Cedisus. "As a minority business enterprise it gives us pride not only to help with preparedness, but also in educating minority communities on how important water and hydrating are to everyday life."

The partnership plans to bring education and resources to NBCI's membership base in the coming months. The partnership will be a critical part of NBCI's Health Emergency Declaration (HED) Program, which works to eliminate health disparities plaguing African-Americans across the county.

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