Meet the Resiliency Crew, a new community preparedness micro-grant program giving fourth- and fifth-graders across Northwest Arkansas the chance to turn their preparedness ideas into action.
The idea is simple: You have $500. How would you help your community get ready? We’re asking kids to look around their school, neighborhood, or community and think about what they could do now to help people prepare for a tornado, flood, severe storm, wildfire, power outage, extreme temperatures, or another emergency.
Ideas don’t have to be big or complicated. Kids might create emergency kits, help older neighbors prepare for extreme weather, support an animal shelter, provide preparedness supplies for a classroom or place of worship, or come up with something we haven’t thought of yet. That’s part of the fun. We want to hear their ideas!
Kids can apply on their own or work together as a group, such as a sports team, scout troop or other youth group. 3-5 preparedness projects will be selected for the inaugural Resiliency Crew, with each receiving up to $500 to put their idea into action. Along the way, Crew members will learn about preparedness, create a simple budget, identify the resources they need, and share updates as their projects come to life.
Applications close November 13, 2026. The inaugural Resiliency Crew will be announced during the first week of December, with projects kicking off in early 2027.