Canadian Red Cross Partnership Request

Posted by Harreson Lovick 
 

Introduced by Teddy Pasut, our speakers today were Jenny Moss & Kenny leung of the Canadian Red Cross. They are presenting a proposal to rotary clubs of the lower mainland to help fund their SmartStartÃ' Multilingual Disaster Preparedness progam.

This program teaches a 2.5 hour workshop in preparedness in 18 different languages (including ESL) free of charge to community groups/schools/organizations whose participants do not speak English.

 

SMARTSTARTÃ' MULTILINGUAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM

The SmartStart program trains bilingual volunteers to teach both First Aid and Disaster Preparedness. Each volunteer is committed to providing a minimum of 2 workshops per month to community organizations who book sessions with the Coordinator. Organizations can vary from parents' groups, cultural groups, clubs, ESL classes, seniors' groups etc.

Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. We are aware that Vancouver sits on a fault line and 'one day' we might experience an earthquake that could kill thousands and bring our daily lives to a grinding halt. But how about the following scenarios?

  • A chemical spill in the neighborhood and emergency evacuation
  • An electricity outage that lasts a week
  • A flooded basement caused by river overspill
  • A threatening forest fire

In all these situations we need to be prepared: to 'stay and survive' or 'grab, and go'. We need to plan for:

  • How to earthquake/flood proof your house
  • How to plan with your family what to do in an unanticipated emergency
  • What will you need to survive the first 3 days or week on your own?
  • What MUST you take with you if you have to evacuate?
  • What should you think about for your personal safety?

ROTARY AND CANADIAN RED CROSS - A LOCAL PARTNERSHIP
The Red Cross would like to meet the needs of more groups as demand rises. However, the costs involved in training volunteers in sufficient numbers to respond to all requests, as well as the costs of materials and workshop-related expenses make it necessary for SmartStart to turn away a number of requests each month.
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This proposal is to partner with Rotary Clubs to offer workshops in their areas. Each Rotary Club would commit to supporting 10 workshops in their area between December 2008 - June 2009. The cost per workshopÃ' is $352. (Cost per student is $17.60 based on average participation of 20 students.)
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Sponsorship by Rotary Club of Vancouver - Arbutus would represent training 1,100 people in our area to be prepared for emergencies -- many more when family members are included.

Speakers were thanked by Bill Boulet with the assurance that our Board would consider their program.