Stamford-based Americares has begun preparing for the upcoming hurricane season, which officially begins June 1.
Volunteers from Mastercard packed 1,200 emergency kits Thursday at the organization's distribution center on Hamilton Avenue. The kits contain essential hygiene items, including soap, shampoo and toothpaste. These items are some of the most requested from Americares when they are initially responding to a disaster.
They will be distributed to families displaced by hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and other emergencies around the world.
The CEO of Americares says there are several steps people can take to be prepared if they are affected by a disaster.
"The other thing is to have important documents ready, so if you need to flee and leave your home have those passports, driver's licenses, other materials about your home you may need to show at a later time. We provide medicines as well in these situations. When people flee their home, they forget their medications and don't have a photo of their prescription to get it refilled," says Christine Squires.
The kits will be stored in the center until they need to be given out.