Youth Corp Offers Helping Hands in Gibson County, Indiana

Written by Jessica Bernstein, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

What do working at the animal shelter, visiting nursing homes, helping at a clothing bank and setting up a disaster shelter have in common? They're all activities of the American Red Cross of Gibson County Youth Corp. The Youth Corp, also known as the Helping Hand program, is composed mainly of children in grades four through eight although some high school-aged teens participate as well. Members earn points for participation; those earning more than 100 points are awarded trophies and medallions.

Eleven-year old Abby Stillwell proudly received a certificate after giving a presentation about the Youth Corp to the local Kiwanis club.

The young people themselves devise the activities they will undertake based on community needs and the interests of Corp members. One of these activities is a Meet Your Resident program where Corp members go to nursing homes to visit and talk with each resident. Each month they also decorate orientation trees that help residents orient themselves to the month, day and time of year.

When residents see the Youth Corp members arriving, they go immediately to the common area to watch the young people decorate the tree. Word of the "Meet Your Resident" program has spread and the group is hoping to eventually be able to provide services to all of the nursing homes who have requested it. That will require expanding the number of Corps participants.

The Youth Corp is now in its third year. Maxine Higgins has been the Corp director for the past two years. A grandmother with two grandchildren who are active in the Corp, Mrs. Higgins works with the young people to develop new and exciting programs. In addition to the community service projects, Corp members embark on activities such as hiking in a state forest, caving, horseback riding, attending concerts and visiting New Harmony, Indiana, a historical reproduction of an early 19th century village. The group went on two overnight camping trips last summer.

Members of the Youth Corp enjoy a hayride together.

The Corp now has its own monthly newsletter called Helping Hands that includes color photos of activities. They operate on a minimal budget with funds provided by United Way and corporate grants. The Corp maintains a membership of 55 young people with 20-30 participating in a given activity. Director Higgins and her assistant, Sue Wise are both members of the chapter's board of directors; they and other board members and volunteers chaperone the young people at various activities. Several parents have also become active volunteers for the Red Cross as a result of their children's participation in the Youth Corp.

Eleven-year old Abby Stillwell is the grand daughter of Maxine Higgins and has been a leader in the Helping Hands program. Last summer at the annual awards picnic, she received a trophy for the highest points earned. Abby gave a presentation about the Youth Corp to 55 members of the local Kiwanis. She wrote her own presentation and closed by explaining that "the Youth Corp has given us the opportunity to meet older people in nursing homes and to cheer them up." Abby and two other young people also championed the Corps at the Chapter's Annual Meeting last summer. Other Corp members will speak at the Red Cross state convention next spring.

Youth Corp members have become the most visible representatives of the American Red Cross in Gibson County. Decked out in their Helping Hand t-shirts, members march in community parades headed by a Red Cross banner and flanked by youth carrying the flags of Indiana, the American Red Cross and the American flag. They also make their own floats. The Helping Hands parade contingent is always met by rounds of applause from onlookers.

The Youth Corp provides direct services to 1,000 people during the course of a year. The Corp also helped to get Red Cross first aid and Masters of Disaster courses incorporated into all Gibson County schools, reaching 2,000 students. "The Youth Corp has been one of the most important services provided by the American Red Cross of Gibson County," said Bill Loveless, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Gibson County. "The amazing thing about the Youth Corp is that all supervisors are volunteers," commented Loveless. In fact, Loveless himself is a volunteer and has only one part-time paid assistant. Volunteers provide all of the Red Cross chapter's services.

The Youth Corp's training came in handy in December when the chapter opened a shelter in a local elementary school in response to a flood that affected numerous families along the Wabash, Patoka, and White Rivers in Gibson County. Several members of the Corp had been trained in disaster relief work and participated in the Disaster Action Teams. Other Corp members set up shelter cots, tables and other equipment and were on hand to assist clients throughout the period in which the shelter was open.