(Note: SB=Skill Builder, T=Technology, SP=Service Project, CE=Career
Exploration)
1st submission: Cadette Troop 446
Links listed below to aid in earning this IPP.
Skill Builder:
SB #1: Two girls did this at a Mock Disaster Event the council put on. They completed a basic first aid course by the Red Cross.
SB #1: Three girls took First Aid course through American Red Cross.
SB #2: Three girls took CPR course through American Red Cross.
SB #5: Some girls made up first-aid and emergency preparedness kit(s) for home/car. Discussed what to do in a crisis, plans for 3 different disasters, where to meet, etc. Practice plans for evacution.
SB #:
Technology:
T #1: Two of the girls visited the local Emergency Operations Center to learn about different technologies used for communication and handling of emergencies in our community. Asked about backup technologies available. (In this area they use a generator to power the center's computers etc. Also, they can call the district area center to request help from National Guard and other technologies.)
Link:
Emergency Operations Center
Two girls who attended the Mock Disaster Event learned about different technologies through the Red Cross, the police department, fire department, and rescue squad unit at the event.
T #5: Girls discussed what to do if the electricity went out in their homes; how to keep warm/cool, cook, keep water from freezing, work with neighbors, and how neighborhood cooperation improves the situation for all.
Service Projects:
SP #2: Helped get materials ready for mailing for the American Red Cross.
Two girls who attended the Mock Disaster, helped pack items for a disaster relief effort in our state.
Career Exploration:
CE #1: Both at the Mock Disaster event and when visiting the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) the girls interviewed emergency personal/manager and found out the education, training (which is ongoing for the EOC manager), and experience needed for their positions. A third girl interviewd emergency personal from the Rescue Squad/Fire Dept. and EMT's from an ambulance team during a visit with a Brownie Troop she was helping with.
Links:
Federal Emergency Management Agency
2nd submission: Cadette Troop 228
Skill Builders:
SB #1: First Aid (required)
SB #2: CPR (required)
We did these with a trainer from the American Heart Association in 2 different sessions
SB #3: learn basic principles of self-defense and how to avoid dangerous situations
SB #4: Evaluate home for fire/evacuation plan, etc.
SB #5: Make 1st aid emergency preparedness kit
See note below about CERT trainer
Technology:
T #1: visit local command center (police, fire, etc.)
T #2: learn about ham or CB radio
T #4: make emergency plan for community oil shortage
T #5: learn how to cope without electricity for 3 - 5 days
See note below about CERT trainer
Service Project:
SP #2: (changed a little) learn about FEMA and Red Cross. Help collect or pack items for disaster relief effort
See note below about CERT trainer - we packed the emergency preparedness 1st aid kits that she uses to train CERT volunteers during one of our meetings.
Career Exploration:
CE #1: interview someone responsible for community safety
CE #2: interview someone in health related field about controlling health emergencies in your community
See note below about CERT trainer
Note about CERT trainer:
In Utah there is a state wide effort using Certified Emergency Response Teams in each city. The coordinator is usually a paid staff person connected with one of the command centers (police, fire, etc.) and the rest are volunteers who take a week long training to become CERT members.
The CERT in each city is responsible for setting up a command post for the local government in case of a city wide emergency, coordinating help (police, fire, EMTs, etc.), safe drinking water, food, toilets, etc.
I called the CERT coordinator in a city close to us and she gave us her whole day on President's Day when the girls were out of school and she should have been off work. She worked on all of the activities listed above except for SB 1 and 2 and the service project.
We learned about the dispatch office and then went up and were able to watch the 2 dispatchers work for about 20 minutes. She gave us a tour of the police station and the holding cells for people who have been arrested. She taught the girls some basic self-defense moves and how to keep themselves out of dangerous situations.
Each girl was given an emergency preparedness 1st aid kit and she explained about her trainings and how FEMA and the Red Cross work with cities that have a serious emergency. She also gave the girls survival lists for different things to put in a backpack for 3 days.
I asked her about the kits and when she would be building more of the kits for a training and she told me that it takes her all day to build 100 kits for a training. Our troop offered to build the kits for her and when her next shipment came in, she called us and we built them for her at our next meeting. I think this service project meant something special to the girls because they had already learned why the different items were in the kit (scissors that can cut through metal, heavy duty gloves, eye protection, etc.) and who would benefit from these kits.
Emergency Preparedness
Submitted by: Cad/Sen Troop 200, Va.
SB: #1 & #2 -- an instructor came to our troop meeting place 2 nights during a Spring Break when few were leaving town. Gave us the First Aid/CPR course for a huge discount.
SB: #2 -- ARC in our area has a regional CPR Sat near National Heart Month each Spring. They offer certification in adult CPR for only $10!!! The course (around here, at least) is open to anyone with enough upper body strength. Or, if you're lucky enough to have one around, maybe a GS leader who is a CPR / First Aid Instructor will teach the course for only the rental of the mannequins and the price of the cards.