Our Youth Preparedness team teaches free classes to schools, Scouts and other youth groups. They teach four different classes, each designed to empower youth in our community to be better prepared for emergencies. Here’s a look into our Youth Preparedness programs in Kitsap County:
On December 18, Krystina Duckworth and Ari Hock presented Passport to Preparedness at Richard Gordon Elementary School in Kingston. They informed more than 400 students how to prepare for disasters that occur in western Washington, such as earthquakes and floods. The kids especially enjoyed determining which items belong in their disaster kits by sticking pictures of potential items on the board.
On January 8, Ari and Krystina presented about community disaster preparedness to seven people at Kitsap Community Resources. Krystina has been presenting here regularly to low-income parents who are interested in learning more about how to take care of their families. One of the women recounted a story of a house fire that she had experienced and had taken her mother’s life. This moving testament was a reminder to the importance of fire safety and preparedness.
Survival Scenarios is a fun, interactive program that encourages middle schools students to work in groups to tackle tricky problems related to first aid and natural disasters. Ari and Krystina went to John Sedgwick Junior High in Port Orchard to pose these scenarios to over 100 students.
Ari went to Bainbridge Island on January 12 to present the Pillowcase Project to about 10 children at the Boys and Girls Club. All of the students elected to participate in the presentation and contributed to a practical discussion about disaster preparedness.
Ari and Krystina went to South Colby Elementary School on January 13 and 14 to teach the Pillowcase Project to about 300 students. The kids were excited to learn, practice, and share the information about how they could build up and use their own emergency supply kit. And of course, they were excited to receive their Disney pillowcases so they could get started.
The Children’s Discovery Museum on Bainbridge Island invited the Red Cross to teach Passport to Preparedness on Saturday, January 17. In this zany environment, Ari and Emily LaCroix managed to rally about 10 kids together for half-an-hour to teach about what items to put in an emergency kit, and how to prepare for house fires.
Ari and Emily participated in Kitsap Community Resources Hygiene Drive for a productive day of service dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. They engaged customers at the local Walgreen’s for about three hours and managed to secure several boxes full of razors, toothbrushes, and the like to benefit the local homeless population. This event was organized in part by Krystina.
If you are interested in scheduling a free youth preparedness presentation, please visit our website.
American Red Cross NW Region 