|
D.C. Area Girl Scouts Get Prepared with the Red Cross
Written by
Bonnie Gillespie
, Staff Writer and Photographer, Redcross.org
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 — What do a giggling gaggle of Girl Scouts, tiny cups of hot chocolate and tables piled high with art supplies have to do with emergency preparedness? Everything, if you ask the 200 young girls gathered at the Herndon Neighborhood Resource Center in Herndon, Va., last weekend.
Six-year-old Keyera Wiley of Brownie Troop 1366 works intently on a special thank you card for Red Cross blood donors. |
The scouts were earning the new “Together We Prepare” patch, with activities like touring the inside of a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) and learning about its supplies to crafting one-of-a-kind “thank you” cards for blood donors who help keep hospitals prepared for medical emergencies. All while drinking hot chocolate on a cold winter afternoon.
Jointly developed by the American Red Cross and the Girls Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, the Together We Prepare program personifies the Girl Scout motto “Be prepared.” The program teams young girls with Red Cross preparedness experts to help the scouts, their families and their communities prepare for unpredictable events.
“Earning patches” is a tradition for Girls Scouts of all ages, and a Together We Prepare patch sewn onto a uniform’s sash demonstrates that scout’s participation in and knowledge of the pioneering Red Cross program.
“It is a tremendous learning event because it makes the girls so much more aware of the environment we live in today,” said Kathy Taylor of Leesburg, Va., the leader of Brownie Troop 1366, one of numerous troops participating in the Together We Prepare patch program. “Knowing things like what the Red Cross is teaching makes them ready for the real world.”
Red Cross volunteer Judy Day teaches a group of Girl Scouts how to “build a kit” as part of earning their Together We Prepare patch. |
Through a series of learning stations, local Red Cross volunteers instructed Girl Scouts and Brownies in the basics of the five-step Together We Prepare program – they learned how to make a plan, build a kit, get trained, give blood and volunteer – in addition to other “hands on” activities that helped bring preparedness to life.
“One of the best things about this program is that the girls are going to be taking what they learn out into the community when they complete the ‘volunteering’ portion of the patch requirements,” said Rebecca Kurylo, who organized the event and serves as a Community Disaster Educator for the National Capital Area Chapter of the Red Cross. “The program has really exploded because the girls are really excited about it.”
Red Cross chapters and Girls Scout and Brownie troops in the Washington, D.C. area have already scheduled three more Together We Prepare patch events to accommodate overwhelming community interest and support.
“We had about 200 girls sign up to be here today and 20 Red Cross volunteers are helping out,” said Debbie Vanderbeek, Interim Director of the Red Cross in Fairfax County, who was one several Red Cross staffers braving rough winter conditions to take part in the patch program.
Girls Scouts Madeline Becker, Anna Gangsaas and Kelly Plescow learned that being prepared helps you not "freak out" in emergency situations. |
Local emergency personnel also participated, demonstrating the use fingerprints in emergency identification situations, while a friendly therapy dog was an active part of learning what to do for “pet emergencies.” After touring the learning stations and taking part in a variety of fun-filled preparedness activities, the girls had become young emergency preparedness experts.
“I learned that you need to make a plan to get out of your house in an emergency and that you should keep a list of important phone numbers by your phone,” said nine-year-old Kelly Plescow of Girl Scout Troop 4141.
“This helps you look out better for your brothers and sisters, too, because you’ll know what to do if something ever happens,” added her friend Anna Gangsaas, age 10, of the same Fairfax-based troop.
Nine-year-old Girl Scout Madeline Becker from Fairfax perhaps best expressed what it means to “be prepared” at any age, when she described her experience at the Together We Prepare patch program event:
“It’s important that we all learn stuff like this because if you’re in a bad situation you’ll know what to do so you don’t freak out.”
To find out how to get involved in the Together We Prepare patch program, contact the American Red Cross or visit the Girl Scouts online .
Related Links:
Related Content:
|
