That image inspired an American Red Cross project where kids living in makeshift communities could discuss community preparedness.
That project eventually grew into a full-blown pilot when Disney came onboard in 2014 and is now a national program that has reached more than 900,000 schoolchildren, mostly third- through fifth-graders.
The Pillowcase Project started in four regions — Louisiana, California, Mississippi, and Kentucky — and grew to 20 and then expanded to the entire country. It partners with local fire departments, tribal communities and the like to deliver its preparedness program, to the 8- to 11-year-olds. The program’s goals are to increase awareness and understanding of natural hazards and convey safety, coping skills and personal preparedness.
“We are heading into our sixth year of implementation, it’s been tested in all kids of communities, expanded nationwide and is now the signature youth program for the Red Cross,” said Hilary Palotay, youth preparedness program manager for the Red Cross. “We actually expanded in our third year to offer it to military stations abroad through our Service to Armed Forces.”
A big goal of the program is that the youngsters, always eager to share what they’ve learned, go home and share with parents or others. “The framework is Learn, Practice, Share,” Palotay said. “The students get excited about what they learn and take it home to share.”
The program is usually a 40-to-60-minute classroom presentation but can go longer if teachers allow. Some of the content is such that communities can use the 10 different modules to adapt the scenario to what might be likely to occur in that region.
Palotay said the third through fifth grades are ideal for this curriculum, and those students are eager to learn and share what they’ve learned. “In the first few years, we tested younger and older students but found [third through fifth] were the best grades to teach,” she said. “We do provide flexibility to give program managers the options to teach to other grades.”
Students learn what types of hazards may affect the community, how to stay safe when it happens; how to use coping skills during a disaster and in everyday situations; and how to be advocates and educate family and friends about emergency preparedness.
The rest of the content is standardized and includes having the children assemble their own supply kits by packing a pillowcase with important items and decorating that pillowcase.
The program also leaves teachers with flyers, surveys and preparedness activities for use throughout the school year. All lessons are compatible with Common Core teaching standards.
Part of the program is instruction on how to stay safe during a house fire. “House fires are the most common emergency and the most preventable,” Palotay said. Kids are recognized if they were part of a family that escaped a fire because of something the child learned through Red Cross.
Disney has supported the export of the curriculum to six other countries, and the program has reached more than 100,000 students in those countries.
