American Red Cross Youth

The Heartland Chapter (Omaha, Neb.) Youth Council celebrated 90 years of the Junior Red Cross by holding a spaghetti dinner, which raised $743 in support of their programs. The dinner was part of an open house at the chapter celebrating Red Cross Month. The evening included a Look Behind the Red Cross, a historical program developed by Council members.

Alisha Hay, a sixth grader at Hood River Middle School, decided this year on her 12th birthday to help her community. Earlier this year a fire destroyed a home in Hay’s neighborhood and she saw how the children that lived there were devastated because all of their things were gone. She asked her friends to bring a new stuffed animal to her birthday party instead of something for her. After she gathered all the stuffed animals from her friends and family, Alisha Hays donated them to the Oregon Mountain River Chapter (Bend) to give to child fire victims. Hay is a girl scout and has taken babysitting classes from the Red Cross.

American Red Cross of Central Florida (Orlando) Red Cross Teen Corps youth volunteers held a Knock Out Measles fundraiser—a car wash at Checkers Drive-in Restaurant. In addition to the car wash, youth sold measles pins for $2 each during March is Red Cross Month.

On President’s Day the Youth Council of the Wyoming Valley Chapter (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) trained 10 Youth Council members in First Aid and CPR/AED. Not only was the entire class comprised of youth, it was taught by two of the chapter’s trained youth health and safety volunteer instructors. The Day of Training will now be on the Youth Council calendar every year for new members and recertification of existing members.

Elizabeth Quintana, a 19 year old volunteer from Arlington, Virginia, was profiled recently as a part of National Volunteer Week. Between lobbying for the Red Cross, translating materials into Spanish, and working on the National Youth Institute, she sets a great example for the rest of us! Read the full text of her story here.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a design for the National Youth Council’s t-shirt design contest! We originally planned to notify the contest winner today; however, due to the overwhelming number of designs and their impressive quality, we need one more week to decide.  We expect to notify the winner on Friday, May 9th instead.  Stay tuned for more information.

If you can make it out to Saint Louis in late May, have $75 lying around somewhere, want to have a great time, and always thought that immersing yourself in interesting curricula for either new Red Crossers or seasoned volunteers was the best way to spend a weekend, well guess what?

You can do all of the above. Come join us at the National Youth Institute!

The registration deadline is only a week away. Check this page out for more information… see you next month in Saint Louis!

The American Red Cross of Central Florida (Orlando) reports that the American Red Cross Club at the University of Central Florida will be holding a Fight the Bite fundraiser to help eradicate measles and malaria. The club’s youth volunteers have pledged to raise $1,000 to help prevent the death of children around the globe caused by measles and malaria. The event will be held at Friendly’s Restaurant; the restaurant will donate a portion of the day’s sales to the club.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a design for our t-shirt design contest!   We are currently reviewing the entries, and we expect to contact the winner on May 1.  Keep checking back here for more info.

The Youth Council of the Wyoming Valley Chapter (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) held a “Senior” Prom at Manor Care Nursing Home in Kingston, Pa.  The Youth Council provided decorations (later donated to the nursing home) and spent the afternoon talking and enjoying big band era music with the residents.  The residents then participated in a game of Name That Tune and concluded the afternoon with light refreshments and a grand prize raffle.  Both the residents and the youth had such a good time that the event will be repeated.