1. They love when they get a call that wakes them up in the middle of the night.
These Kansas City volunteers, including one of my favorite guys, Carl, are helping after an apartment complex fire.
2. Being “chained to a desk” is one of their favorite parts of the week. Continue reading
Red Cross staffers, Monica and Erin, talk about back to school safety and smart tips for parents.
Know what route your children will be taking if they walk or ride their bike to school.
Last year, we…
Helped over 1,531 people after they experienced the devastation of a home fire.
As a Red Cross Youth Instructor, I travel to locations in Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties to teach classes involving a host of safety topics. Many of these locations differ in multiple ways, but their commonality is the great kids at every location I visit. These students ranging from preschoolers to high schoolers oftentimes help me teach the class–brilliant discussions often happen at each grade level.
Earlier this month, I was teaching at a Washington, IL classroom affected by the Nov. 17th tornado. Several of the students had lost their home during the tornado. This topic was a review of tornado safety, all the while necessary as we are approaching the tornado season. The kids in the classroom didn’t just listen to me talk. They were quick to raise their hands to ask questions. One boy, about the age of five, told me everything his family did during the tornado. Billy (not his real name), helped me teach the class. He became a co-teacher as he shared the decisions that kept Billy and his family alive. Continue reading
What I am about to write about isn’t your typical dirty laundry! (And to be honest, it isn’t really dirty.) The laundry I am talking about is really a pillowcase, and it’s clean. This pillowcase doesn’t have a typical life. It’s one goal is to help children learn about local hazards and preparedness.
Now, you must be thinking “Is this woman delusional? Talking about laundry and preparedness? How does this even relate to each other??” In this case, the Pillowcase Project teaches students how to stay safe and calm during an emergency, and how to be prepared for when emergencies happen. It is designed for 3rd through 5th graders, and is a National Red Cross pilot program. Our Region was awarded a grant to present this program to our local youth and, to be honest, it’s very timely considering some of our recent weather. Continue reading
I think I have talked about where I live before, it is an old farmhouse in the kinda country. I live on the edge of town in Morton, IL and my house is 75% surrounded with fields.
Ye ole farmhouse
As you can imagine, along with the location comes critters. We have the occasional opossum that wants to live in the barn, field mice, rabbits and coyotes. And now we can add a “chupacabra” to the list. For those of you who have no idea what a chupacabra is, according to Wikipedia, it is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. It is reported to be a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail or an evil-looking, dog-like animal with long snout. They pray on small livestock like goats.
Here is a drawing from an eye witness. Ohhh Spooky!
I know what you are thinking… Erin has lost her mind and watches way too much SyFy, but check out the pic of what has been roaming around the house over the last week.
Ugly lil “chupacabra”, isn’t he???
It looks like an evil, dog-like creature, doesn’t it? Many experts have investigated sightings and say they are coyotes with mange. I really don’t know, but I have lived in central Illinois my entire life, and have never seen the likes of this. When we first saw it running around, this was the exchange of words in the kitchen as we were all pressed against the window…
Me – What in the world is that???
My boyfriend – Is it a hairless coyote?
Me – I don’t know. Maybe it is one of those ugly dogs with no hair that people spend way too much money on.
My boyfriend – It could be a dog with mange that got dumped.
My 16 year-old son – No way! That looks like a chupacabra!
So, that is how our latest bit of wildlife got it’s name. We had hoped that it would just move on, but with daily sightings, I started to worry that it could be sick or that we could accidentally surprise it sometime, forcing it to defend itself. I decided it was time to call the professionals.
Yesterday, I called animal control who referred me to the police department who referred me to DNR. Long story short, none of them had a clue what this thing was for certain but guessed it was either a hairless fox or a hairless coyote. All of them said the same thing, I could try to trap it or I could just make a lot of noise whenever I saw it to scare it off. Not really the answers I wanted, but it is what it is. We decided that we would be very aware of our surroundings when outside and be loud when we see it. In the interim, I decided to see what the Red Cross had to say about dealing with “chupacabras”.
I started to research and found a fab little class we teach called Bow Wow Ow. It trains children about how to be safe around dogs and what to do to avoid dog bites. Sure it was a stretch, but “chupacabras” are reportedly dog-like.
The class addresses more than 12 common situations where children could have a negative experience with dogs and then illustrates the proper behavior children should possess while in each situation. These teaching points, along with common sense and adult supervision, go a long way in preventing dog bite-related injuries.
In all seriousness, the Bow Wow Ow class is pretty awesome for young kids and it’s free, so you can’t beat that. Our instructors go to area schools and teach children about being safe through tons of classes. (Click here to see all that we offer.) Fall class scheduling is now open, so feel free to let your child’s teacher know they should contact Monica.Grugett@redcross.org to schedule their free classes. I do not recommend asking her for “chupacabra” safety training though, her office is next to mine and she thinks that I have completely lost my mind. 😉
I still cringe when I see these
Ah, my scar. That circular discoloration on my upper left thigh. Traumatic time really. Back when I was in grade school our neighbors would have a cookout, and my whole family attended. Later in the evening, some of the adults would shoot off bottle rockets, while us kids would write our names with sparklers in the air. Idyllic hot summer memory. Until that one year where a bottle rocket went astray.
Now, most of you know that Red Cross has tips to be safe for the Fourth of July. One of them being “Leave any area immediately where untrained amateurs are using fireworks.” Now, I am pretty sure this gentleman had lit off fireworks before. He never threw or pointed a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures or flammable materials. But, he did think it would be fun to hold the bottle rocket up in the air with his two fingers and wait for it to shoot off.
I was standing at least 10 feet behind him. I didn’t think I was too close, and I think my mother thought we were ok too. Until that bottle rocket shot straight out of his hands and looped behind him to hit me in the leg. Scattering children, screaming, apologizing, adults yelling…wow. In all actuality, I was lucky. It barely broke the skin and I was ok. Needless to say no one else shot off any other fireworks that night. (It’s all fun and games until a kid get hit with a firework.) Ever since then, I am very cautious about fireworks; those used in professional displays, as well as the ones allowed to be used at home.
So remember folks: Be safe this holiday, don’t hold a firework in your hands until it goes off and follow these Red Cross safety tips!
-Leave any area immediately where untrained amateurs are using fireworks.
-Never throw or point a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures, or flammable materials.
-Keep a supply of water close by as a precaution.
-Never give fireworks to small children, and always follow the instructions on the packaging.
-Light only one firework at a time, and never try and relight a “dud.”
-Stay at least 500 feet away from professional fireworks displays.
When six-year-old Brett McMahon brought home a flyer from school asking for donations for Operation Santa, he wasn’t quite sure what the organization did. Four years later, this determined boy could just about serve as its spokesperson.
When the notice came home in Brent’s backpack, his aunt, Debbie Lampert, explained that Operation Santa was a group that worked to send Christmas stockings to soldiers serving overseas during the holidays. She went on to describe the sacrifices our soldiers go through to protect us from harm. Her words prompted Brett to respond.
“I felt bad that our soldiers didn’t always get something for Christmas,” he said, “so I wanted to help.” And help he did—the first year Brett collected over 3,000 items for Operation Santa, everything from toothbrushes, shampoo and batteries, to gum, beef jerky and socks. What’s more, he has doubled his yearly goal every year since then, collecting 6,000 items in 2010, 12,000 in 2011 and 26,000 this past year.
Alongside his aunt, Brett works year-round asking for donations from local business and hotels, plus going door-to-door throughout area neighborhoods. His passion and dedication seem boundless. “Whether its one toothbrush or one case, Brett’s reaction is the same,” said his aunt. “His face just lights up!” The pair use their staircase at home as a “thermometer” for their progress. “How far are we to our goal depends on how far up the bags go,” she continued with a smile.
Operation Santa became especially personal two summers ago when Brett’s baseball coach—along with 100 other local service men and women—was sent to Afghanistan. When Brett found out, he and his aunt worked diligently to get the deployment location and pack and ship stockings so they would arrive in time for Christmas. Afterwards, they received emails and photos, and were able to directly speak with individuals who received these exact stockings. The experience really brought things home.
How does Brett feel about being a Heartland Hero? “I can’t believe it,” the ten-year-old stated, “but it makes me feel good. I mean, I didn’t expect it when I started out. I just did what’s right.” His aunt is unabashedly proud. “Brett just cares so much,” she said, “and doesn’t give up. He could be out there riding bikes or playing or whatever, and he gives some of that up. His dedication…that’s what makes him a hero I think. It’s inspiring and tiring,” she jokes, “but it’s contagious!”
Photo courtesy of Spirit Photography and video courtesy of Tim Sotter Productions.
I say one and only because I know I am the one and only Monica. Monica who is in love with her Red Cross job, who gets to play on a daily basis and think of creative ways to get kids to learn health and safety lessons. I am the Director of Youth Services and help spread the Red Cross message to any and all youth in our area. I also assist in getting youth as volunteers, to help create a lifelong Red Crosser, willing to help in the community with our mission. We have a strong high school club, and I have recently joined forces with the blood region with our local Bradley University on their Campus Red Cross Club.
Besides for loving my job, I also enjoy writing, reading and hiking. I love to travel and have been to 32 states thus far…so I am over halfway there to reaching all 50! My favorite place so far was Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. After my week long camping trip this past June with one of my besties, I fell in love with that part of the nation. I also love cats…maybe to the point of being a cat lady (I won’t even delve more into that statement!)
My enjoyment of writing does play a part at the Red Cross. Two of the four puppet shows we have were written by me, as well as the movies for First Aid Kid and The Haunted Chapter Parts I, II, & III. Look for IV coming soon!
So…look for more posts by me (the one and only Monica), lover of writing, Red Cross, and cats!
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