FLASH Invites Familes To Join "Great Winter Weather Party"

Celebrate the first day of winter with fun, family-friendly website and social media campaign offering $5,000 sweepstakes, tips for severe winter weather preparation and neighbor-in-need ‘Snow Angel’ program.

Nearly every region of the U.S. can be affected by severe winter weather. That’s why FLASH is encouraging families throughout the country to join the Great Winter Weather Party -- a fun, new, family-friendly website and social media campaign aimed at better preparing families and their homes for winter weather hazards like blizzards, deep freezes, ice storms and more.

Some weather events such as tornadoes can be a surprise, but we know -- that in certain parts of the country -- we WILL experience extreme winter weather at some point during the season. Nevertheless, thousands still find themselves unprepared when the severe winter weather hits.

The goal of the Great Winter Weather Party is to increase the number of families that prepare themselves and their homes before the cold sets in, and have some fun while doing so.

Join the Great Winter Weather Party

When you join the Great Winter Weather Party at www.greatwinterweatherparty.org, you’ll find easy-to-follow tips on home and family preparedness, an opportunity to become a Snow Angel volunteer by pledging to help neighbors in need with chores like shoveling snow, and a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win a $5,000 Kohler® Generator.

Prepare Your Home

The following are some of the simple tips that can be found at the Great Winter Weather Party for preparing your home for extreme winter weather:

• Preventing ice dams

• Properly insulating pipes

• Staying safe while using fireplaces, furnaces and space heaters

• Getting outside spaces ready for winter

Prepare Your Family

The following are some of the simple tips that can be found at the Great Winter Weather Party for preparing your family for extreme winter weather:

• Gathering the right supplies for an extreme winter event

• Creating an emergency plan

• Knowing what to do if you’re stranded away from home in the bad weather, and more.

Be a Snow Angel Volunteer

The Great Winter Weather Party allows all who “attend” to sign up to become Snow Angel volunteers. Created in partnership with the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and the HandsOn Network , Snow Angel volunteers pledge to help neighbors in need shovel their walks, salt their steps and provide additional help as needed during extreme winter weather. The goal of the Snow Angel program is to reduce snow shoveling-related injuries (approximately 11,000 each year) and deaths due to heart attacks (approximately 100 each year).

Enter Kohler Generator Sweepstakes

Power outages are common during extreme winter weather and can last for several days.The Great Winter Weather Party provides tips for how to survive a power outage and gives families an opportunity to win a Kohler automatic standby generator valued at approximately $5,000. To enter the sweepstakes, simply visit www.greatwinterweatherparty.org and click on the “generator sweepstakes” tab.

Engage Through Social Media

Get up-to-the-minute campaign announcements and expert tips,join in fun activities and games and earn chances to win prizes throughout the season. Just “like” the Great Winter Weather Party on Facebook and “follow us” on Twitter . The Great Winter Weather Party is presented by FLASH and sponsored by Kohler Generators and State Farm™.