Area Youth invited to Leadership Development Conference

What makes a leader?

The Southwest Washington Red Cross Youth Council will share its collective knowledge of what makes a leader during the 6th Annual Leadership Development Conference.

The conference will be held March 9 and 10 at Camas High School.

Youth Council members will lead seminars on team empowerment, selfless leadership, goal planning and reaching objectives via the “Energy Bus,” conflict management, club dynamics and management, and leadership qualities.

Participants will participate in team-building exercises and will be trained in either first aid or CPR by Red Cross youth instructors.

The event is open to all local middle school and high school students at a cost of $30 for the entire weekend. The cost covers lunch for both days and a Leadership Development Conference T-shirt.

Our thanks to Quantum Residential, Inc. of Vancouver for sponsoring the event.

Click the following link to register for the conference:

http://www.redcross.org/news/event/Southwest-Washington-Leadership-Development-Conference

Jim Boline
SW Washington Red Cross Media Team 

Youth Leadership Development Conference Scheduled

The SW Washington Red Cross Youth Council invites all students from throughout the SW Washington region to attend and participate in a two-day Leadership Development Conference (LDC) on March 9 and 10.

The LDC  runs from 8am-5pm both days, and will be held at Camas High School, 26900 SE 15th Street, Camas.

The LDC teaches leadership skills, and provides classes in first aid and CPR. In addition, guest speakers will share their leadership experiences with the students.  The LDC is planned and conducted entirely by the SW Washington Red Cross Youth Council.

For more information, you can either email the Youth Council at swwaredcrossyouthcouncil@gmail.com or Trish Osilla, Youth Service Advisor at trish.osilla@redcross.org.

To sign up for the LDC, click here to go to the LDC registration site.

2012 LDC Participants

Wildfire App updates you whether you’re home or traveling

On the heels of a major drought and busy wildfire season, the American Red Cross has released its official Wildfire App.

The app puts lifesaving information in your hands – whether you live in or visit wildfire-prone areas.

This free app—available in English or Spanish—is the fourth in a series created by the American Red Cross, the nation’s leader in emergency preparedness, for use on both iPhone and Android platforms.

The Wildfire App comes after the highly successful First Aid, Hurricane and Earthquake Apps, which have more than 1.2 million users.

The Wildfire App includes the Blaze Tracker trio of features that can be customized for alerts that are specific to locations where you live, travel or have loved ones:

• Blaze Warnings lets you see areas where NOAA has issued warnings that conditions are favorable for potential wildfires.
• Blaze Alerts informs you when a wildfire has begun within 100 miles of any locations monitored.
• Blaze Path from Inciweb.org provides you with a current view of an existing wildfire’s perimeter, how it has spread, and the fire’s current location when available.

Additional features include:

• One touch I’m safe messaging allows you to tell your family and friends, via social media outlets, that you are out of harm’s way.
• Locations of open Red Cross shelters.
• Preloaded content that gives you instant access to critical action steps, even without mobile connectivity.
• Toolkit with flashlight, strobe light and audible alarm.
• You can earn badges through interactive quizzes, and share them on social networks.

The Wildfire App can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android.

Apps can help prepare people for disasters but they are not a substitute for training. Red Cross First Aid and CPR/AED training empowers people to know how to respond to emergencies in case advanced medical help is delayed. Go to redcross.org/takeaclass to find a course near you.

This year, the Red Cross launched 11 wildfire relief operations spanning 10 states. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, wildfires have burned 8.8 million acres in the United States so far this year.

Red Cross Youth Develop Leadership Agents

Using the title, “Mission: I’m Possible,” members of the Southwest Washington American Red Cross Youth Council trained 56 “agents” during the 5^th annual Leadership Development Conference held March 3rd and 4th at Thomas Jefferson Middle School.Participants and instructors were all students from area high schools. In addition to attending team-building, communication, diversity, and leadership workshops, 23 students were trained in CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).  Another 21 students became first-aid certified. 

The Youth Council designed the two-day event around a spy theme parody of “Mission: Impossible.” Attendees were given an initial mission via video recording by Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt the morning of the first day.

Later the same day, the mayor spoke in person to all LDC participants about leadership and answered students’ questions. Each attendee was assigned to one of four teams, which were designed to mix together people from all ten high schools represented.

Students worked through assignments to earn advances in rank leading to becoming full-fledged Red Cross “agents” by the end of the second day.

Members of the Youth Council were responsible for almost every aspect of the two-day conference, including the curriculum outline, scheduling, and providing instruction to their peers.

The major event sponsor was Quantum Residential (Gary O’Connell). Other sponsors included Carolee’s Assisted Living (Carol Fox) and the American Red Cross.Participants represented the following high schools: Mountain View, Camas, Prairie, Hudson’s Bay, Fort Vancouver, Columbia River, Union, Skyview, La Center, and Benson Polytechnic (Portland).

Jim Boline, SW Washington Media Team

2012 Real Heros: Water Rescue

March is Red Cross Month. During this time of celebration, SW Washington Red Cross along with corporate sponsor Fred Meyer, is honoring Real Heros in our region. Today, we salute the recipients of the Water Rescue Heros award which is sponsored by Waste Connections.

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Water-rescue-trained volunteers Doug Knutzen and Eddie Mendez were notified through a 911 dispatch that a 12-year-old boy was under the surf in Long Beach, Pacific County, WA.

Nicole Kissel, also 12, had tried to help Dale Ostrander after he was swept off his board. She’d quickly paddled toward him; then, held on to him while he climbed back on his board.

Paddling ferociously toward shore, another wave knocked the pair off their boards, this time pulling Dale underwater and out of Nicole’s reach.

Nicole was able to get back to shore safely. Doug and Eddie arrived with their gear and a water craft to swiftly get into the surf where they saw Dale’s lifeless body two feet below the surface.

By then, the riptide had kept Dale underwater for at least 15 minutes.

Eddie dove into the water to retrieve Dale; then, Doug pulled Dale onto the water craft and jetted to shore. Doug carried Dale’s lifeless body to a paramedic who was standing by to administer CPR and First Aid.

Many other trained responders continued to keep Dale alive as he was Life Flighted to the hospital.

Miraculously, Dale survived and is working his way back from death’s door. Thank you, Doug and Eddie!

Youth Leadership Development Conference

The SW Washington Red Cross Youth Leadership Development Conference was held recently in Vancouver. 

And thanks to the sponsorship of Gary O’Connell and Quantum Residential, many youth were able to attend this two-day event where they learned leadership skills, diversity, team building, and were also certified in CPR and First Aid.

Thank you, Gary and Quantum Residential, for your support of the American Red Cross youth programs!