SEM Red Cross Youth

Hello Red Cross bloggers! I hope you’re having a good Fall. I love Fall in Michigan – it’s my favorite season. I like any change of season, actually, and speaking of change, I have been learning about The Measles Initiative, whose tagline is “There is change in your pocket.” Since 2001, the American Red Cross has been partnering with a number of organizations to fund and support “mass vaccination campaigns and disease surveillance around the world.”

With that said, I have created a Red Cross club project connected to The Measles Initiative that has two goals. The first goal: to strengthen the relationships between American Red Cross Clubs in the Southeastern Michigan region. We have a geographically and socially diverse Red Cross region. Did you know that the Southeastern Michigan region spans 7 counties? Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Lenawee, Monroe, and St. Clair. So, we have ties from Monroe to Macomb. Do you know anyone personally from these counties? You could be doing the exact same projects, experiencing the same successes or challenges and not even know it. At the Red Cross, we think that unity is really important – we are one Red Cross. We believe that collaboration is a powerful tool and agent of change. We think this helps raise awareness and increases the number of lives we can affect.

An example of a project that would be easy to collaborate on is The Measles Initiative. Two clubs fundraise competitively, with the same start and end date, perhaps choosing the same week, for The Measles Initiative. The clubs sell and wear lapel pins; they could have a pocket change drive under the Measles Initiative banner of “There is Change in Your Pocket”; they could sell baked goods at their schools, and recruit donors (because you can donate as an individual to The Measles Initiative). This letter contains some of these ideas.

Finally, the clubs could find a way to evaluate and celebrate the project’s completion. One way to do this would be to find a date that works for both of the clubs to meet and have a social event to discuss and celebrate completion of the project. Another way could be to set aside time in a club meeting to conference call one another. A third possibility could be for the group officers schedule a time to meet and discuss the outcome for their respective club. Additionally, each club could write an update or newsletter, with pictures and reflections to send to the other club or write a newsletter with the partnering club about your project. This newsletter could be distributed to the club’s broader community, such as a school.

Lastly, you don’t have to do The Measles Initiative – that’s just a suggestion. Here are the steps a club could take to ensure that a different project would have a similar “flavor”:

1. One club “partners” with another club for a project.
2. Two clubs agree to do a similar, the same type of, or even one, project together. Resources for suggested Red Cross club projects are available online and through contacting the Youth Coordinator.
3. The two clubs plan and run the project, with benchmarks along the way, check-points at which they will update one another.
4. The clubs will evaluate and celebrate the project’s completion together, through a party, social event, or creating a newsletter together.

I hope these ideas are encouraging, and I look forward to seeing how Red Cross clubs from across our region choose to reach out, make a difference, and be agents of change in local communities and the world!

Contact me for more information:

Lynne May
MSW Intern
American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Region
mayly@usa.redcross.org

Happy Fire Prevention Week to all!!!

The American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Region is far too familiar with the severity of fires and the impact they have on communities. Our chapter is the second busiest in the country when it comes to fires. To combat this issue we’ve teamed up with the DTE Energy Foundation to help kids in Detroit be able to prevent and prepare for fires. This is taking place through two different programs – Red Cross Ready and Team R.E.D.

Red Cross Ready
This fast paced, high energy, stations based program is geared toward 4th, 5th, and 6th graders and helps students learn about how to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Students get to practice stop drop and roll, how to make an escape plan, how to test a smoke detector, recognizing fire hazards, and many other important, life-saving skills!

Students practice "stay low and go" - the sheet is "smoke" and the students practice crawling beneath the smoke to escape a fire.

Team R.E.D. (Ready for Emergencies in Detroit)
Team RED is a 12 week long, interactive, service learning style program. This program aims to educate high school students in grades 9-12 about fires, their prevalence in our area, and the many areas of the community that fires affect. Team RED also gives students an opportunity to respond to the issue of fires. In our pilot program at Osborn Upper School last spring students responded by creating an art competition for all students at their school to participate in, where all entries had to relate to fire safety and preparedness, and they also were able to guest star in a documentary called BURN (http://detroitfirefilm.org/). This year we are working with the Medicine and Community Health Academy at Cody High School in the fall and Southeastern High School in the spring.

Team RED students assemble comfort kits as a way of helping victims of fire in their community.

Check out these great videos posted on redcrossyouth.org. Very helpful information for anyone in a Red Cross Club!!

eKnowledge is again offering Red Cross staff, volunteers and clients the SAT and ACT PowerPrep program which comes in a single DVD and includes 11 hours of video instruction, supplemental test prep material, sample questions, and practice tests. To order your donated DVD go to www.eKnowledge.com/RedCross or call (951) 256-4076. Please note there is a nominal charge of $17.55 per standard program for the cost of materials, processing, distribution and customer service. eKnowledge does not profit from this donation program.

Youth Services at the American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Regional Chapter is extremely lucky to have two bright, enthusiastic interns joining the team for the 2011-2012 school year. Here’s an introduction to Lynne May, our intern from the University of Michigan:

Hello! My name is Lynne May, and I just began the Master of Social Work program at the University of Michigan. I am a Michigan native and attended the University of Michigan for my undergraduate degree, too (Go Blue!).

There are two reasons why I’m going to be a social worker. First, when I was in college, I wondered things like: What makes a society tick? Why does anyone think and act as they do? How do environmental and political factors affect people’s lives? What do people need in-order to thrive in every day life and are they getting what they need? And how can those needs be met by me and society as a whole? These questions became really important to me. And I want to see them answered and for those answers to matter, to affect lives.

This year, I am choosing to work as an intern with is the American Red Cross, and particularly, in Detroit. Why? I love Detroit – it is one of the most awesome places I have ever worked and lived. I really enjoy the city, the people, and the opportunities to serve and learn about the residents and what is important to them. One thing that’s important and affecting residents is the issue of house fires. I was shocked and sobered to learn from the American Red Cross that, next to New York, Detroit has the most house fires on average per day (5-6!). Also, I watched this, and knew that the work I’ll be doing this year, largely consisting of teaching youth in Detroit about fire prevention, would be very timely and relevant.

I love volunteering at the American Red Cross so far. These folks are motivated, have integrity, are creative, and have a driving desire to serve. I’m humbled and grateful to be a part of this team, to serve under their mission.

I look forward to all the adventures of this coming year!

Youth Services at the American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Regional Chapter is extremely lucky to have two bright, enthusiastic interns joining the team for the 2011-2012 school year. Here’s an introduction to Lisa-Marie Chin, our intern from Wayne State University:

Hello Southeastern Michigan Red Cross youth bloggers. My name is Lisa-Marie Chin and I am one of the new social work interns at the American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Regional Chapter. I am originally from the Jamaica but I grew up in Southfield, Michigan. I received my undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and I am currently enrolled in the Master of Social Work Program at Wayne State University. The focus of my master’s degree is community practice and social action. I am interested in all things pertaining to social policy and welfare and hope to one day be actively involved in community development and social advocacy in the Detroit area.

I chose to intern at the Red Cross because it is internationally recognized and respected. I am grateful to have this internship opportunity and hope to expand my knowledge on the needs and assets of the various communities in Detroit Area. I am especially excited to work with Julie on the on the Red Cross Ready program that will be presented to elementary schools in the city of Detroit. I think that youth in general provide new and innovative perspectives on issues important to our communities. Using their experiences and perspectives I hope to gain additional skills and knowledge to help facilitate positive change in the city of Detroit.

From www.redcrossyouth.org:

Check out this American Red Cross National Youth Council member’s advice on how to start a Red Cross Club. She has a ton of great tips and ideas!