Our Vision
The High Alert Institute, Inc. envisions a world where all people, families, communities, businesses and organizations are disaster ready.
Our Mission
The High Alert Institute helps those not served by municipal, local, county, state, regional or federal programs/agencies to be Disaster Ready.
Our Promise
We will support, promote and when possible, provide:
- Disaster Education, Planning, and Preparedness for animal owners, animal caretakers, animal shelters, and animal welfare organizations.
- Disaster Response and Recovery for animal owners, animal caretakers, animal shelters, and animal welfare organizations.
- Disaster Rescue, Domestic Violence Respite, and Voluntary Surrender for freshwater non-native exotic and ornamental aquatic pets.
- Shelter for rescued and surrendered freshwater non-native exotic and ornamental aquatic pets.
- Coordination and Mutual Aid between freshwater non-native exotic and ornamental aquatic pet rescues and shelters in North America.
- Access to free disaster-related education and resources.
- Support to researchers and developers working in healthcare, behavioral health, artificial intelligence, and disaster sciences.
- Awareness, education, and resources to support resilience and recovery of people, pets, and the planet in the wake of disasters.
- Disaster Behavioral Health education for persons responding to agricultural or animal care and welfare disasters, including the communities that they serve.
We will advance:
- Alignment of Emergency Management and Disaster-Readiness guidance to match best practices in animal care, rescue, conservation, and welfare.
- Technology to increase sustainability and resilience for homes, small businesses, agriculture, and animal care and welfare, using off-the-shelf components.
- Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion Practices and integrate these as values into our organizational culture.
- Awareness of Determinants of Health and the impact on people, pets, and the planet within a one nature/one health paradigm.
What we do
DISASTER EDUCATION & READINESS
Bridging Preparedness Education for Humans and Animals
DISASTER EDUCATION & READINESS
AQUATIC PET RESCUE & SHELTER
Caring for Our Finned Friends
AQUATIC PET RESCUE & SHELTER
When disaster strikes, most aquatic pet owners have limited options to secure the safety of their pets. Sheltering in place may not be possible if there is no power to provide aeration and “pet-friendly” shelters do not include ponds or aquariums. Our goal is to provide an option for aquatic pet owners in need of rescue and shelter for their finned friends.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP & GREEN TECHNOLOGY
Protecting Nature Through Innovation
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP & GREEN TECHNOLOGY
Reducing the number of non-native aquatic animals dumped into public waterways is the main focus of our environmental stewardship and protection efforts. The High Alert Institute also assists the development of green and renewable energy technologies. Reducing the carbon footprint of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery mitigates risk while improving resilience.
MUTUAL AID & COOPERATION
Partnering for the Benefits of Humans and The Animals in Their Care
MUTUAL AID & COOPERATION
We partner with public and private organizations, sharing resources and fostering partnerships to improve disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SUPPORT
Sharing the Scientific Truth and Experience
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SUPPORT
The High Alert Institute team has over a century of combined research experience in medical, nursing, behavioral health, and disaster sciences. Our team provides support to researchers and technology developers through comprehensive literature and failure mode database searches and reviews.
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS of HEALTH (SDoH)
Raising Awareness of Environmental Health Factors for Humans and Animals
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS of HEALTH (SDoH)
Non-medical factors that impact overall health, like noise pollution, poor air quality, and poor water quality are termed Social Determinants of Health or SDoH. And these SDoH factors that strongly impact humans also impact their pets and other animals in their care. The High Alert Institute assists in advocacy, education, and technology development to mitigate the impact of SDoH on humans and animals alike.
DISASTER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Promoting Mental and Emotional Resilience
Disasters disrupt life and impact our sense of personal, family, and community safety. Survivors and responders alike often are not aware of the emotional, psychological or spiritual challenges that they may face from disaster onset through recovery. With two decades of experience training responders and communities to prepare for the behavioral health aspects of disasters, we will continue to provide education and a curated list of resources.
THE JOY OF KOI
Healing Through Koi Therapy
THE JOY OF KOI
The therapeutic value of pets during illness, trauma, and recovery is well established. Koi fish are well suited for people unable to provide verbal pet commands or physically care for dogs or cats. Koi ponds also provide a beautiful setting for peaceful reflection. The High Alert Institute and its partners offer free or reduced-cost Koi ponds stocked with rehomed Koi fish to support this type of pet therapy.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
PATENTS & INNOVATIONS FOR GOOD
Never Let a Good Idea Go to Waste
PATENTS & INNOVATIONS FOR GOOD
Intellectual Property (IP) just sitting on a shelf loses value as it becomes obsolete. The High Alert Institute IP Donation Program seeks to rescue stranded, technology-related IP with the potential for commercialization. Once accepted by the program, the IP owner/inventor is eligible for a tax deduction. Businesses that pay the Institute for the use of the IP advance their own innovations while supporting our mission.
PHOTOGRAPHY FOR GOOD
Make a Difference with Your Eye for Nature
PHOTOGRAPHY FOR GOOD
Professional photographers, amateurs, and legal copyright holders are all welcome to participate in the High Alert Institute Nature Photo Donation Program. Sales of the images benefit the Institute. Donors are eligible for tax deductions equivalent to the fair market value of their photos. All nature themed photos, whether new or vintage images, may be donated. People may be included in the photo but only if unidentifiable (i.e., blurred figures at a distance).
BECOME A JOY OF KOI SPONSOR
Give the Gift of Recovery
BECOME A JOY OF KOI SPONSOR
Make your donation twice as nice by rehoming aquatic pets and providing a rehabilitation companion pet to a deserving person, family, or facility. Sponsor part or all of a Joy of Koi Program pond installation – complete with rehomed koi - and give the gifts of love and recovery.
SPONSOR KOI
Enjoy Koi Without a Pond
SPONSOR KOI
Have you always wanted a Koi pond but don’t have the space one? Sponsor a Koi in our community shelter pond and we send you photos of your sponsored animal. Coming soon are live Koi Cameras above and below the water to enjoy your sponsored Koi anytime.
ADOPT A KOI
Open Your Home & Heart to a Finned Family Member
ADOPT A KOI
Koi need forever homes, too! For pond enthusiasts, freshwater exotic and ornamental fish are more family members. The High Alert Institute Aquatic Pet Shelter Rehoming Program is thrilled to assist you in stocking your new pond or adding a new finned friend to your school. Coming soon, deliver your new finned friend anywhere in the continental United States.
VOLUNTEER
Apply Your Talents to One or More Institute Program
VOLUNTEER
From the staffing pool to the shelter ponds, from the boardroom to the classroom, and from reading the science to writing the analyses, High Alert Institute programs and services benefit from the experience, expertise, and generosity of our volunteers. Put your talents to use for good and to good use - VOLUNTEER TODAY.
PARTNER WITH THE INSTITUTE
We Are All More Resilient Together
PARTNER WITH THE INSTITUTE
Dumping pets into wild habitats is a man-made disaster that is truly preventable. The Institute’s Aquatic Pet Welfare Partnership works to raise awareness and reduce the impact on healthy ecosystems through education, as well as rescue and rehoming. Joined by champions of animal welfare and environmental stewardship, aquatic pet rescues and shelters across the United States aim to save our finned friends and preserve our waterways.
BE A FUNDRAISER
Show Us How Fundraising Is Done
BE A FUNDRAISER
Want to share our cause with family, friends, and colleagues? Looking for a non-traditional way to celebrate a birthday or honor someone special? Support the Institute by starting your own Peer-to-Peer fundraising challenge! Let your contacts know why our mission is important to you and what they can do to support your cause. START YOUR OWN FUNDRAISER for the High Alert Institute.
USE INSTITUTE STOCK IMAGES
A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words and 3 Bits to the Institute
USE INSTITUTE STOCK IMAGES
The High Alert Institute has partnered with Shutterstock to distribute stock images from the nature images donated by our supporters. For eligible stock images, Shutterstock will donate a portion of the royalty to the High Alert Institute. There is no cost to charitable organizations or to Shutterstock customers.
SHOPPING FOR GOOD
Do Good While Shopping Online
SHOPPING FOR GOOD
For eligible purchases through AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the High Alert Institute. There is no cost to charitable organizations or to AmazonSmile customers. All you need to do is push the SMILE NOW button and select to support THE HIGH ALERT INSTITUTE on AmazonSmile.
PLEDGE TO THE INSTITUTE
Give a Recurring Gift
PLEDGE TO THE INSTITUTE
For less than a dollar a day, you can feed the Koi in the shelter, keep free disaster and contingency planning education available for animal care professionals or help give the Joy of Koi to a neurologically injured individual.
THE LEGACY OF A LASTING GIFT
If You Can’t Take It With You, Have It Do Good
THE LEGACY OF A LASTING GIFT
Create a legacy that will save lives. Plan your will or living trust today. Help Where Needed Most. Giving as much as you want to charity during your lifetime and after you're gone may help to reduce federal estate and gift taxes significantly. Gifts made to charities, specifically, are exempt from estate and inheritance taxes. You, your heirs, and/or your estate may be eligible for additional tax benefits.
High Alert Institute
4800 Ben Hill Trail
Lake Wales, FL 33898
Office: 863.696.8090
FAX: 407.434.0804
Info@HighAlertInstitute.org
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A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE, WITHIN THE STATE, 1-800-435-7352 (800-HELP-FLA), OR VISITING www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Florida Registration #CH68959
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