Pillowcase buddies prepare students for disasters

Members of the St. Joseph American Red Cross of Northwest Missouri presented the Pillowcase Buddy program to Nodaway-Holt students in this fall.

The program is tailored to students in grades 3-6. It began after Hurricane Katrina when first responders noticed college students carrying their possessions out of their homes in pillowcases. Disney partnered with the Red Cross and they designed a project for children to make their own emergency packs.

Program teams, comprised mostly of retired teachers, visit schools to teach students about disasters. They have a variety of safety lessons schools can choose from including fire, thunderstorm, lightening, tornado and general preparedness.

After the presentation, each child receives a pillowcase featuring Disney characters and a list of emergency items to place inside. Students decorate their sacks and fill them with items such as food, flashlights and band-aids to create a mobile emergency and disaster pack. Once home, students are urged to include personal items such as family photographs, a stuffed animal or a toy to help them feel comforted.

Students who complete the program also receive free smoke detector vouchers. Those interested in redeeming the voucher give their address to the Red Cross. Red Cross members then contact local fire officials who install the smoke detectors.

Nodaway-Holt students learned about tornado safety recently. It is no longer considered safe to get out of your car to lay in a ditch during a tornado because you are more vulnerable to flying debris. If you are knocked out by debris, you could drown in a ditch filled with water runoff.

According to Red Cross officials, if you can not find a building to take shelter in, stay inside your car with the seat belt secured and your head below the windows covered with your arms.

If you are in a home with no basement or storm shelter, the program recommends you take shelter in a closet, an interior hallway or a bathroom with no windows. Protecting your head with bike helmets is a wise decision.

Individuals who live in manufactured homes need to have a tornado evacuation plan. Manufactured homes are not safe in a tornado because they are not anchored and tend to roll, according to the program. The Red Cross urges inhabitants to plan to find a safe structure during large storms.