Student Guide for Creating an American Red Cross School Club Dear Club Leader, Thank you for your interest in starting a Red Cross Club at your school. I hope that you will find it to be a rewarding and fun experience and that you will also develop yourself as a leader. We have developed this Students Guide to give you basic information on various topics that you may need to know in starting and leading your club. You will find basic suggestions on how to facilitate a meeting, make posters to advertise projects, and project ideas. There are so many Red Cross Projects from which you can select, but feel free to develop new projects as well! Your club is going to be what you make of it and no two clubs are the same. I hope that you and your club will learn from our training and ideas, but we want to learn from you as well. If you have a suggestion or new idea for a project, please tell us!! The School Programs are constantly evolving and your input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your hard work and energy! Best of Luck, Your Local American Red Cross 1
REASONS TO JOIN A RED CROSS CLUB 1. You will make a difference in your school, community and world. 2. You can fulfill Service-Learning requirements. 3. You can be trained in CPR and First Aid, Disaster Services, and Public Speaking. 4. You can improve your work or college resume. 5. You can network with professionals, other volunteers and other high school Red Cross Clubs in the York area. 6. You can be an active member of a respected international organization. 7. You can cultivate skills in leadership, marketing, and business. 8. You can meet several other people your age and have fun! The purpose of Red Cross Clubs is to assist students in implementing exciting and meaningful service-learning projects and educational opportunities in their school and community. Red Cross clubs provide students the perfect forum for discovering leadership skills, learning Red Cross training and giving back to the community through service. Please be CrEAtivE! This is your club and it will be what you make of it. 2
First Steps Before you start to have meetings with your club, you should first make sure you have permission from the administration of your school to organize the club. You may want to set-up a meeting with the administration to go over your ideas. (You can always ask other students, teachers or me for help). Please call your local Red Cross contact if you need assistance. Once you have permission, you can start your search for a club sponsor. A sponsor could be a faculty member, teacher, or parent involved with your school. The most important thing that a sponsor must show is an interest and commitment to your club. They must be able to provide you with meeting space and be able to be present during meetings. Spreading the Word! Whether you re recruiting members for your club, or advertising an upcoming service project, it s important to spread the word around about what you are doing. The more that students, faculty, and community members know what you are doing, the more support you will receive for your cause. There are many different ways to market your club, but the two methods you will be using most will be face-to-face communication and poster/flyer designs. (You should also check with the school administration to see if they can make an announcement about your club meetings/events at the start of the school day. This may be different for every school.) Face-to-Face Since people are swamped with hundreds of messages and advertisements every day, it is important to keep your speeches and recruitment messages short. Whether you re talking to another student about joining your club, making a presentation to the community, or creating an announcement about an upcoming project, talking with people in person is your most effective recruiting tool. You may want to practice creating something called a 30-second spot with other club 3
members. Come up with a basic message (a couple different ideas and points about your club or event that you want to highlight) and time each other to see if you can fit the speech into a 30-second time period. For example, if you are trying to get new members to join your club, you might want to say something like: I just joined the Red Cross Club at our school. We re planning to do a lot of exciting projects like collecting toys for children who have been burned out of their homes, helping out at a homeless shelter, and training elementary school students about how to respond to a disaster. Some of us are getting certified in CPR and First Aid. You should think about joining too. It s a lot of fun, and we meet every other Friday in the science room. Hey, if you re interested, you can let me know now, or just show up on Friday. I would love to have you as part of the group! It s important to show enthusiasm when you re recruiting, and always remember to mention the benefits of being involved. Never beg someone to join your club or event! No one wants to join a group if they feel like they are being guilt-tripped into it. Posters/flyers This is another great way to spread the word about your club activities throughout your school and community. Again, as with the face-to-face approach, you want to remember to keep things short and simple when creating a poster or flyer design. There are four simple elements that each poster or flyer should have in order for it to be most effective. 1) A statement of need this tells the reader why it s important that they volunteer for a project or join a club. Example: Many young children do not know how to respond to an emergency situation. 2) Explain what someone can do to help this piece inspires and empowers the volunteer, letting them know that what they do will make a difference! Example: You can make a difference in the life of a child. The Red Cross Club is looking for interested students to educate local elementary students in basic First Aid education. 4
3) Address potential fears think about what might scare someone about this project or event, and explain what will be done about it. For instance, some students might feel threatened about speaking in front of people. Example: Training materials and practice sessions are available. 4) Most importantly, be sure to include contact name or explain what the reader s next step to get involved will be! Make sure all lettering used on the poster/flyer is large and legible enough to read. You can use graphics and color to attract attention to your material. Hang posters at eye level, and make sure they are secured well to the wall. Most people will not take the time to re-hang a poster if it falls off the wall. Icebreaker Ideas for first meeting Partner Introductions Break the group up into pairs. Invite each pair to find out three things about the other person. Have each person introduce their partner to the larger group. M&M or Toilet paper Pass around a bowl of M&Ms OR a roll of toilet paper around the group. Tell players to take as much as they want, and once it has gone around to everyone, ask each person to tell one thing about themselves for every M&M or piece of toilet paper that they took. 5
JOIN THE CLUB! TO GET INVOLVED, CONTACT: ADVISOR STUDENT SPONSORS MEETING TIME/DATE MEETING PLACE 6
Being an Effective Facilitator Running a successful Red Cross Club meeting can be a very simple task if you keep some basic things in mind: 1) Set a consistent time and day to meet. You will be more likely to retain members if you set a particular day of the week as your club meeting day. That way, members will know automatically that for instance, the first Tuesday of each month they have a meeting. Set a time limit for each meeting and stick to it. It s not professional or courteous to run meetings late; have someone be responsible for keeping time if necessary. 2) Prepare an agenda for the meeting. Agendas help organize meetings and tell club members what to expect. They keep meetings focused and on schedule. An agenda should include brief explanations of what is to be discussed at the meeting, the individual responsible for each part, and time limits. It can be helpful to ask club members before the day of the meeting if there is anything that they want to add to the agenda. You may also want to leave 5-10 minutes in the meeting for any last minute announcements that other members have, or ideas that they want to add, this should be a New Business time. 3) Delegate tasks. Giving other members of the group responsibility for projects, even if they are not a top club leader, instills in them a sense of ownership and responsibility. Students will be more likely to come to meetings if they feel that they are an important part of the club. If you have a large number of people in your club, you may want to assign an entire committee to one project. Make sure that you also assign responsibility to someone to report progress from their particular assigned duties each meeting. 4) Summarize. Leave time at the end of the meeting to go over any decisions, assigned duties, or deadlines that members may need to have clarified before leaving. This may also be a good time to remind everyone of the next meeting date. 5) Follow-up. People are busy and don t always remember what was told to the. This is when reminder phone calls, emails, and announcements are important. If you re having trouble with members attending meetings, you may want to call them the night before and just remind them about the meeting the next day. Or, if someone has volunteered to take responsibility for a project, you may want to call right before their deadline to check-in and see how they are progressing. 7
CLUB FORMAT You have the flexibility to design your Red Cross Club to best fit the needs of your student body and your school. Decide on how much time you as Teacher/Sponsor are willing and able to commit to your Red Cross Club. Once this is determined, make the commitment to yourself, the youth of your school, and the American Red Cross to follow through in your plans. The School Program Coordinator will provide each club with a Club Notebook. This notebook lists over 50 service project ideas and step by step directions on how to complete each project! It has been very helpful to the advisors who have already formed clubs in area schools. The students are welcome to select any of these projects, or develop projects of their own. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER SPONSOR OR RED CROSS CLUB PRESIDENT Act as a liaison between the Red Cross and your school. Represent your club at major Red Cross functions. Notify the Red Cross School Program Coordinator of new projects and volunteer activities. Help students organize Red Cross Club activities. Maintain records of participants and volunteer projects (see Activity Form and Club Registry). Submit articles and updates to Red Cross for the chapter newsletter. A WORD ABOUT FUNDRAISING Your Red Cross Club may raise money in the name of the Red Cross as long as the money goes toward serving the mission of the American Red Cross. Use the money to support your own Red Cross projects and club, Red Cross scholarships, Red Cross field trips, etc. Any money your club decides to raise becomes the responsibility of the club. Many clubs like to fund raise for the local chapter to help local fire families or to train themselves in CPR and first aid. 8
SERVICE PROJECT IDEAS Holiday Gift Sharing collect canned goods/pasta/beverages/personal care items Hat/Scarf/Mitten Tree for winter safety Write a Friend letter writing to elderly Creating Art Projects for Nursing Homes or sick children in hospitals Teach Safety Programs to Elementary Students - Scrubby Bear (hand washing), Home Alone Safety, and First Aid School Chests Box/chest of school supplies that will be shipped to countries that have experienced a natural or man-made disaster Comfort Kits Bags of personal supplies to be passed out to victims of local fires. There are adult and child lists to fulfill. These kits are made on an as needed basis, please check with local Red Cross to see what is currently needed Participate in the Measles Initiative Help staff a First Aid Station at local events Create a Safety Skit - for elementary students or senior centers Decorate school bulletins or public display cases with vital Red Cross information Distribute Red Cross Informational brochures - Halloween Safety, Power Out!, Flooding, Winter Preparedness, etc. Help staff information booths at community events Sponsor a blood drive Compete in the Fire Hurts Campaign or other Chapter fundraising campaign Toy Drive for underprivileged kids Face Painting at community events Assist with the Annual Red, White & Blue Gala or other Chapter event Collection of Full Size Bed Sheet sets and Pillows for Local Fire Victims and many MORE in the Service Project Notebook!! 9
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION PROJECTS This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn presentation and management skills. These types of presentations will look great on a college application or job resume. "Scrubby Bear" This is a program created by The Red Cross to teach elementary age children and younger about the importance of washing their hands to reduce diseases. You can go out into the community, such as an elementary school or youth group and tell them the story about Scrubby Bear. This program is partially video based. Objectives: Teach students about germs and hand washing. Have students become members of Scrubby Bear Clean hands club. Teach responsible behavior to help reduce and prevent the spread of germs. Home Alone Safety This program is also video based. The video is stopped at certain points to discuss what the students in the video are doing right and wrong. This class is meant to help teach students safe habits when they are home alone and also to create a list of activities that could safely occupy their time while they are home alone. This program is for Grades 3 rd 6 th. Fire Safety This program is for 2 nd 4 th grades and teaches the students fire safety measures. Script and activity based presentation. Objectives: State that matches and lighters are tools, not toys. Identify the three requirements to make a fire. Demonstrate "Stop, Drop and Roll," and know when to do it. Remind parent(s) to check all home smoke detectors on a monthly basis. Identify two safe exits out of their bedroom. Club members are welcome to learn each of these programs and present them to elementary schools or organizations within their school district. If there is a presentation outside the school district, please check with the School Program Coordinator before scheduling the presentation. For more detailed information on any of these presentations, please contact your local American Red Cross Chapter. 10
Red Cross Club Attendance Form (Please duplicate and submit after each meeting for volunteer hour credit) Please PRINT clearly School Name Date Name Grade Name Grade Please make a copy for your records and send a copy to: Local American Red Cross contact 11
AMERICAN RED CROSS SCHOOL CLUB ACTIVITY FORM (Please duplicate and submit after each meeting for volunteer hour credit) Event/Project Name: Start Date Or Time: End Date Or Time: School: Club Advisor: Phone Number: E-mail Address: Number of Volunteers (attach roster with student s names & volunteer hours to ensure proper time is recorded) Youth (17& under): Young Adult (18-24): Adult (25 & older): PLEASE SELECT THE ONE ACTIVITY THAT BEST DESCRIBES YOUR EVENT/PROJECT Service Project (i.e. collection/production of items) Number of Items: Distribution/Presentation of Disaster Preparedness Information Distribution/Presentation of HIV/AIDS Awareness Information Distribution/Presentation of General Red Cross Information Red Cross Club Meeting Red Cross Fund Raiser Educational Instruction to younger students Other: Description of project/activities: Class taught: Number of People Reached: Number of People Reached: Number of People Reached: Number of People attended: Amount Raised: Number of kids taught: Form Completed By: Date: Send Completed Form to: Local Red Cross Club Contact 12