Noteworthy Neighbors

Angela Kim and Scott Persner
Angela Kim and Scott Persner, high school seniors, want to be part of the solution. That's why they decided to become involved with the Bergen Crossroads Chapter of the American Red Cross. Angela and Scott are active members of A Force for Change, a peer education group that is making waves throughout Bergen County. Red Cross-trained peer educators staff A Force for Change phone line that young people can call to discuss any and all of their concerns. The majority of calls are about relationships with parents, siblings, boyfriends, girlfriends, or teachers, or about health issues such as pregnancy or exposure to HIV. Some young people call simply to express feelings such as anger or sadness and to have someone who is impartial listen to their side of the story. The toll-free phone line receives about 100 calls per month.

The peer educators are trained using a combination of American Red Cross HIV/AIDS education programs. The youth also learn special skills such as team building or dealing with addiction issues. Scott Persner remarks, "The whole program has made such a difference in my life. It has helped me to open up and get lots of skills… It's great to be part of such a caring group of people."

Participants in A Force for Change also perform theatrical presentations in the community. On World AIDS Day 2000, they performed The Wake for more than 200 youth from local high schools. In The Wake, the audience is engaged in a recollection of a young person's life. The person has been misinformed about which behaviors put him at risk for HIV infection. Placed in decision-making situations, he makes choices that put him at risk. As the plot unfolds, the audience discovers the facts about transmission of HIV and how people and communities deny the existence of HIV in their midst. At the end of the performance, audience members learn that they were part of the young person's wake and are challenged to see how they can help each other overcome HIV.

A Force for Change is preparing to launch a new venture to help their peer educators communicate with young people. In collaboration with the Urban League of Bergen County, Inc, a chat room will reside on the chapter's Web page near the Youth Services section. The Urban League is donating five computers equipped with the latest technology. The chapter plans to promote A Force for Change chat room and phone line at local movie theaters.

Donald Brown, II
The Roanoke Valley (Virginia) Chapter of the American Red Cross awarded Donald Brown, II a Certificate of Merit at their Annual Meeting on June 15, 2000. Donald, 10-years old, saved his mother's life during a February 1999 car accident.

On their way to church in a nearby town, the car Donald, his mother, Saundra Cuff, and stepfather, Charles Cuff, were riding in was forced over an embankment by a hit-and-run driver. The overturned car was fully submerged in a creek. Despite severe lacerations, Donald was able to break out a window and swim to the surface.

Once he was able to get some air, Donald swam back down to the car for his mother. He was able to pull her through a window and prop her head up on a makeshift pile of stones. Saundra Cuff, trapped in her seatbelt at the time, remembers hearing her son saying "Mamma, Mamma, please don't die." Donald then climbed the embankment to signal for help. By the time Donald returned to the car, Charles Cuff had freed himself from the car.

Donald, then a fourth-grader, had been taking the Red Cross Learn to Swim program which Roanoke City schools require as part of their physical education curriculum. "I knew Donald was learning swim lessons but I had no idea he could do what he did," remarked Saundra Cuff.

In a March 13, 1999 article in The Roanoke Times, Saundra commented on the swim program in which Donald was involved. "They do it so that the child won't be so fearful of water," she said. "I really think he would have panicked if he hadn't had those skills. I never knew you'd be in a situation where you would need to know how to swim."

Donald, barely able to see over the podium, received his Certificate of Merit during a thunderous round of applause and a standing ovation from a crowd of about 300 people. "I was a little embarrassed with all those people clapping and standing for me," Donald later said.

Without a doubt, the skills Donald learned helped to save his mother's life. She now thinks of him as her guardian angel.