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First All-Native American Red Cross Club Discovered
Helen Park, Presidential Intern
Thursday, August 05, 2004 — When 18 fifth-grade students of Laguna Pueblo Elementary School in Old Laguna, New Mexico, officially launched their Red Cross school club in December 2003, they didn't know they were the first all-Native American Red Cross club in the United States. "Now … we know," said Jocelyn Vote, the club's adult advisor, "we have set an example for other Native American tribes to start a club."
Kawaika Club members share their successes during a live local Red Cross telethon. |
The Kawaika Club, as it is called, was created in collaboration with the Mid-Rio Grande Chapter in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The club members live in the Laguna Kawaika Pueblo in New Mexico, composed of six major villages. With about eight thousand members, it is the largest Keresan-speaking pueblo around today.
In its first seven months, the club has already done a great deal. Jocelyn remembers Christmas, when, "We all bought presents for kids who were in need in Laguna. A club member got the post office to hold a gift drive. We received so many things for the kids, besides socks and jackets. We were overjoyed that the children went away with a vanload of gifts. This year we are planning for more!" The club also raised over $300 for the Measles Initiative, a national effort to help vaccinate 200 million at-risk-children in Africa against measles.
Many of the club's projects focused on raising safety awareness for senior citizens and school children—services that help the Mid-Rio Grande Chapter fulfill its humanitarian mission. The first project the club implemented was safety awareness for seniors in the pueblo. Youth volunteers distributed informational doorknocker bags containing winter and fire safety tips and guidelines on how to create a family disaster plan. In collaboration with the Pueblo of Laguna Community Health Resource Department, the club also later distributed over 100 smoke detectors to the elderly population. To celebrate "March is Red Cross Month," club members gave out packages of Big Red gum and bandages to promote placing first aid kits in the school.
They then appealed to their school community to make calling card donations to the Family Support Center at nearby Kirtland Air Force Base. Members collected 56 calling cards to help families of deployed troops stay in touch with their loved ones. In partnership with the Gifted and Talented Club at Laguna Elementary, the youth raised over $1,000 to purchase 50 comfort kits containing games, stationary, snacks and sunscreen for service men and women serving overseas. The students also created letters of hope and well wishes to servicemen and women serving overseas.
Jocelyn describes the club's mission as simply to "to train others as they get older, mainly in first aid and CPR, and to reach out to the elderly." She and Diana Carrillo, the Youth Services Coordinator for the Mid-Rio Grande Chapter, boast of the club's eagerness and pride in being part of the American Red Cross and serving their community.
Diana recalls when the club members first learned of the unique nature of their club. It was during the chapter's annual fundraising telethon in June 2004. "The students were asked to appear on live television with one of our local celebrity broadcasters," said Carrillo. "Although nervous and excited, their faces beamed with pride when they were told they were the first Native American Red Cross Club. When they were leaving the stage, they walked off as if they just graduated from high school. After the telethon was over, the club members had the opportunity to be photographed with several local celebrity broadcasters. Many students commented that they would never forget this experience as long as they live."
The fifth graders demonstrate the impact youth bring to the Red Cross humanitarian mission through Red Cross clubs.
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