The American Red Cross offers two live webinar programs for elementary students about how to stay safe during a disaster and better “bounce forward” should one occur. These free nationwide programs are:
* Prepare with Pedro for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students
* The Pillowcase Project for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students
Understanding the toll disasters can take on our lives and emotions, the Red Cross developed a standardized curriculum to help educate elementary-aged students with needed skills to cope with emergencies. These programs provide students with necessary skills to help lessen the fear and anxiety they might experience in a disaster, which can happen anywhere and at any time. The crux of the programs is to educate students about disaster preparedness through a “learn, practice, share” structure – equipping them with the needed skills to learn about how to prepare, practice lifesaving actions, and share what they learned with their household and friends.
Our youth preparedness programs are developed by professional educators, psychologists, scientists, and Red Cross disaster responders. This consortium of experts applied academic and experiential knowledge to build a curriculum that is scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, and engaging. The curriculum is reviewed annually by these subject matter experts, and it is further refined from lessons learned from recent disasters. Last year alone, we presented this program to more than 400 students across Central Florida, and we know our youth preparedness programs have saved at least 11 lives since their inception.
The Pillowcase Project is a 45- to 60-minute presentation during which students learn about how to stay safe during a hurricane – the most likely hazard as well as home fires. Prepare with Pedro is a 30- to 45-minute presentation during which students learn about how to stay safe during a hurricane, the locally relevant hazard for this region. Each program is available in both English and Spanish.
Students also learn a psychosocial coping skill, through deep breathing or positive visualization exercises, to be better equipped to be emotionally resilient through an emergency. Our programs meet Core Curriculum Standards. There is no cost for the presentation or the materials associated with presenting.
Both programs are available as live interactive online webinars. For classes with on-campus students, the entire class can participate from one or more devices. For remote students, the webinar can be accessed like any other live online sessions. We will present the programs with the same technologies that you are already using.
Please consider putting Prepare with Pedro and The Pillowcase Project on your 2020-2021 schedule. Let me know if you have questions or would like to set up presentations. We are ready to begin scheduling your presentations immediately.
Thanks for your time and consideration.
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