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Pennsylvania: Local Resources

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PEMA and ReadyPA

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency runs public preparedness outreach under the ReadyPA campaign, built on the national Ready.gov framework from DHS and the Ad Council but adapted with Pennsylvania-specific content.

ReadyPA's three-part framework

Be Informed (know your specific local hazards and how to get emergency alerts), Be Prepared (build a kit and a household plan), and Be Involved (volunteer, including through your local CERT team or Citizen Corps). ReadyPA is supported jointly by PEMA, Citizen Corps of Pennsylvania, and the state Department of Health.

Where to find it: pa.gov/agencies/ready.

Penn State Extension: Pennsylvania’s version of USU/OSU/UC ANR/AgriLife/UF IFAS/Cornell CCE

Penn State Extension runs the same category of land-grant Extension program as every other state covered on this site.

  • Master Gardener Program: 40 hours of basic training (many counties run it as a 20-week evening program, October through March), an 80%-or-better score on midterm and final exams, then 50 hours of volunteer service within the first year to earn certification, followed by 20 volunteer hours and 10 continuing-education hours annually to maintain it.

Where to find it: extension.psu.edu lists the program by county.

CERT: county-run, with PEMA offering a direct connection

Like most states covered on this site outside of a few large single-city programs, Pennsylvania’s CERT teams are organized at the county level, Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Chester County, and Montgomery County among the active examples, each with its own schedule and application process.

A shortcut worth knowing about

Rather than searching independently, Pennsylvania residents can contact PEMA directly and ask to be connected to their local CERT team, a small but genuinely useful coordination service that not every state covered here offers explicitly.

Where to find it: pa.gov/services/ready for the PEMA connection point; Pittsburgh and Chester County for two active county-level examples.

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