American Red Cross Helps Riis Youth Off To A Healthy Start in 2010

BEARS, WHALES, BATS?  No, the Queens Zoo didn’t come to Riis Settlement in January and February, but the American Red Cross did, bringing with it two months full of important health and safety workshops for Riis elementary-  and middle-school -aged participants.  ARC conducted total of nine animal-themed classes for kids during the first two months of the year, covering such topics as first aid, hygiene, and water safety.   The classes, for young people aged 5-12, engaged kids in fun, interactive projects that stressed the importance of wellness and safety in all aspects of their lives.

Here are the four different presentations:

Basic Aid Training (BAT)

This program teaches First Aid procedures for handling breathing difficulties, bleeding, poisoning, burns and shock.  Through a series of interactive quizzes, activities and games, BAT empowers children to prevent many accidents by giving them the basic skills they need to identify potentially harmful situations. 

First Aid for Children Today (FACT)

This program helps children understand the importance of managing their own health and safety, as well as the health of the environment in which they live.  Using stories featuring animal characters, FACT deals with topics such as First Aid, calling 911, road safety, being home alone, healthy living habits and the environment. 

Scrubby BEAR Hand Washing Program

Using games, art projects and stories, this program teaches children about germs and instructs them in behaviors to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.  The curriculum provides extensions to subjects such as math, science, language, art and music.

Longfellow's Water Habits Are Learned Early (WHALE) Tales

This program teaches children how to identify, understand and avoid hazards around the water.  Using activity sheets in conjunction with an animated video featuring Longfellow the blue whale, children find that learning about water safety can be fun.

As Veronica Franklin, Program Coordinator for Riis Settlement’s OurKids I and OurKids III put it, “Kids love animals, but they don’t always love learning about wellness and safety.  This program gives our youth the best of both worlds.”  Thanks to the American Red Cross and Instructor Elizabeth Urena for helping make health fun!