Since October of last year, I have been volunteering with the American Red Cross Chapter of Northwest Georgia in Rome. After working throughout the fall with Mrs. Anne Krueger (my volunteer specialist), she gave me the idea of getting involved with the Pillowcase Project, which especially attracted me because of the prospect of working with kids and empowering them to be amazing, young leaders.
The Pillowcase Project is a preparedness education program for younger kids (grades 3-5) that teaches them about emergency preparedness, how to deal with panic in serious situations, and more general aspects of safety within their family and community. The program is presented by American Red Cross volunteers all throughout the nation and is sponsored by Disney. During the hour-long presentation, the kids are given an activity book in which they can fill out important contact information, a poster that encourages them to practice the skills they are taught in the presentation, and, of course, a pillowcase which they decorate and can fill with important emergency items such as a flashlight, batteries, water, a first aid kit, and more.
In January, the American Red Cross trained me to become an assistant presenter for the Pillowcase Project. I was also given the chance to attend a summit for the Red Cross volunteers in Georgia at the Metro Atlanta Red Cross chapter. This summit revolved around the Pillowcase Project, along with Home Fire Campaigns. It was a wonderful experience where I met many new people, obtained more knowledge and training for the Project, and participated in conversations about what we could do better as one region to achieve our goals and spread more awareness about safety to families in our communities.
Upon presenting the Project to our servant leadership director, Mrs. Barnes, she inspired me to talk to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Georgia to discuss the possibility of doing this with their kids. I met with a unit director to share the idea.
Last month, I was given the incredible opportunity to present the Pillowcase Project at Boys & Girls Club South Rome. Bernice Jackson, a Red Cross volunteer, and I both talked to about 50 kids, sharing with them important information regarding local hazards, general safety and preparedness, and coping skills.
We taught them specifically two coping skills that would help them deal with panic in emergency situations, during which it’s crucial that they’re calm and action-oriented. One was the “Symbol of Strength” skill, for which we taught the kids to create and store a mental image of themselves at their best and strongest. For most of them, this was an image of them playing a sport, dancing, spelling, or other example of them exercising their talents and passions.
Afterwards, I helped them decorate their pillowcase with fabric markers, and encouraged them to draw images that brought them comforting thoughts in hard times such as their house, parents, siblings, pets, stuffed animals and more. I loved talking to each of them, and learning more about them.
I have always loved that Darlington places such an important value on community service and servant leadership. Seeing the unique service projects of Darlington students and participating in class service projects each year really added to my interest and passion for my involvement with this. Darlington has shown me how incredible it is to help our community grow, and has inspired my actions.
