COPE Highlighted at International Conference on Social Capital and Resilience

Our collaborator, Patricia Frost, President and Executive Director of the National Pediatric Disaster Coalition, recently highlighted the work of COPE Disaster Champions during her presentation at the International Social Capital Association conference on March 25.

Titled “Flipping the Script: Social Capital as Infrastructure for Preparedness and Resilience,” the session explored how shifting from system-centered approaches to people-centered, relationship-driven strategies can strengthen community resilience.

As part of her presentation, Patricia featured COPE as an example of this shift in action—recognizing our work in creating free, multilingual resources that engage children through storytelling, art, and characters. By speaking with children rather than at them, COPE helps transform disaster preparedness into a shared, empowering narrative for families and communities.

The presentation emphasized a powerful idea: children are not only participants in preparedness—they are connectors. Moving between home, school, and community spaces, they help build trust, relationships, and shared understanding. When children are equipped with knowledge, they strengthen the resilience of entire communities.

As highlighted in the session, investing in children and social connections is key to reducing disaster risk, enabling faster recovery, and fostering more inclusive and adaptive communities.

We are honored to see COPE recognized as part of this important conversation on building resilience through social capital.

A big thank you to Patricia Frost for championing our work!