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Texas Youth Brings Clara Barton's Story to Life
Written by
Katie Lawson
, Staff Writer, Redcross.org
Wednesday, July 05, 2006 — For more than 25 years, the National History Day contest has encouraged students to take a hands-on, exploratory approach to studying history. The theme of this year’s national competition, “Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas, Events,” intrigued a Texas teenager who then set out to tell the story of Clara Barton and the American Red Cross.
Started as a small contest in Ohio, National History Day was developed to make teaching and learning history a fun experience. Since then, it has grown into a national organization with various programs and an annual competition. Through the contest, students in grades six through 12 are asked to research and investigate topics relating to a general theme. Students produce projects in the form of exhibits, historical papers, performances or documentaries. After competing on local and state levels, the program culminates in a national competition held each spring at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Finalist Sara Heskin, 13, stands with her project entitled “Clara Barton Sees Red: A Vision with a Mission” at the National History Day competition exhibit at the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, June 14, 2006. Sara, moved by the Red Cross response to Hurricane Katrina she’d witnessed last September, knew she wanted to tell the story of Clara Barton and how she founded the American Red Cross for her project.
(Photo Credit: Katie Lawson/American Red Cross)
View an enlargement of her project.
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Sara Heskin, 13, from Cypress, Texas, has long been interested in the American Red Cross.
After hearing of the competition through her 7th grade history class, Sara began to brainstorm possible research topics. With the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina still fresh in the minds of many, it made sense to her to tell the story of Clara Barton and how she founded the American Red Cross.
“I began the project in September after my church had been converted to a Red Cross shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. After seeing that, there was no question what my exhibit was going to be about,” said Sara.
Starting at her local library, Sara compiled facts about Clara Barton and her many years of humanitarian work. From there, she contacted her local Red Cross chapter in Houston for more information. She even found visual aid materials on eBay. For most of her project though, Sara used the resources and information on the organization's national Web site RedCross.org, including its online museum.
Sara’s final exhibit, entitled “Clara Barton Sees Red: A Vision with a Mission,” takes the viewer through Barton’s early years caring for soldiers during the Civil War and her eventual founding of the American Red Cross. The visually-stunning exhibit also presents a historic timeline of the organization.
After being chosen as a finalist in the 2006 competition, Sara was invited to Washington, D.C. to present her project as part of the National History Day exhibit at the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Finalists were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the museum. The student exhibit will be on view at the museum until September 30 of this year. An appropriate place for an exhibit on Clara Barton, the museum has an extensive Civil War medical collection on display.
Touring the Red Cross national headquarters building in the heart of Washington, D.C., Sara comes “face-to-face” with (a close facsimile) of the subject of her project, a bronze sculpture of American Red Cross Founder Clara Barton.
Outside its national headquarters building on Red Cross Square, Tom Goehner tells Sara about The Red Cross Spirit, a bronze and marble work created by Felix de Weldon. Depicting three Red Cross workers reaching to help a fallen soldier, the statue’s inscription reads: "To all men and women of the American Red Cross who gave their lives in service of mankind." (Photo Credit: Lindsay Pond/American Red Cross)
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Impressed by her inquisitiveness and hard work, the Red Cross also extended a special invitation to Sara when she visited the nation’s capital for the competition finals. Red Cross Manager of Historic and Education Outreach Tom Goehner, who had exchanged emails with the young student answering more in-depth answers related to the project, offered to give Sara a guided tour of the organization’s headquarters building at 17th Street—also known as “Red Cross Square”—in the heart of Washington, D.C.
The classic white marble building, a product of the Ecole Des Beaux-arts style that houses the working offices of the President and CEO and other senior leaders of the organization, was built as a memorial to the heroic women of the Civil War. In 1965, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark. Her visit to Red Cross national headquarters brought Sara face-to-face with Red Cross history.
Sara's experience learning about the Red Cross has inspired her to take training courses in CPR and first aid. She also plans to take a babysitter training course to reaffirm her child care skills. To learn more about these and other training courses, contact your local Red Cross chapter.
After placing 8th in her section in the competition, Sara recalled, “National History Day offered many amazing opportunities that I am very thankful for, and blessed to have experienced.”
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
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