Pictured left: Red Cross of South Carolina volunteer Sara Drummond, pictured right: Red Cross of South Carolina volunteer Linda Smith.
The American Red Cross of South Carolina is preparing South Carolina children for how to prevent and respond to emergencies like home fires—the state's most frequent disaster.
On October 24th, Red Cross of South Carolina staff and volunteers taught the Prepare with Pedro program to over 750 children at Concrete Elementary school in Anderson County. Prepare with Pedro is a 30- to 45-minute preparedness education program for grades K-2 that teaches students how to be prepared and take action for either home fires or other hazards. Prepare with Pedro complements The Pillowcase Project (grades 3–5) by reading a story featuring a penguin named Pedro.
"There are two things: it's about how to prevent and practice with your family to be prepared if there's a fire, and also how to learn what coping skills are and how to calm yourself down when you're really scared," said Red Cross volunteer Sara Drummond, who taught Prepare with Pedro at Concrete Elementary School.
During the presentation, students learn coping skills and receive a storybook to take home and share what they have learned with their families. Drummond says teaching home fire safety is vital as the Red Cross responds to an average of six home fires daily in South Carolina.
"Prepare yourself in case of an emergency, especially for a fire. About 90% of the disasters we respond to are house fires. We do a breathing technique with them and I'm a yoga teacher so this is huge - I am so glad we are teaching breath work at this early age," said Drummond.
Teachers and staff at Concrete Elementary School say that the children love the Prepare with Pedro story and learn vital information about emergencies.
"We are so thankful for the presentation at our school. It is evident that our students gained valuable tools and resources for preparing in case of a fire or other emergency-type situations. One family shared that their student came home to ask important questions that would help their family prepare for any sort of emergency. Thank you [to the Red Cross] again for empowering our future leaders," said Amy Greggory, a music teacher at Concrete Elementary.
Heather Ernst, a guidance counselor at Concrete Elementary, says the event was a success as hundreds of students at the school are now prepared for home fires and other emergencies.
"Working with the whole team at the Red Cross to organize this event was such a pleasure. Everyone was so helpful and accommodating to the scheduling needs of our large kindergarten through second-grade population. They were willing to help schedule the presentations in a way that accommodated our whole school in an effective and efficient manner," said Ernst.
Since July 1, 2022, the Red Cross has trained over 21,000 South Carolina children in emergency preparedness skills. To learn more about Prepare with Pedro, Pillowcase Project or how you can bring a free preparedness program to your school or organization, click here.