In Honor of Columbus Day - Discover new skills at the Red Cross

What the Red Cross offers? 
by Carol Grinage, volunteer contributor
·         You want to babysit for your neighbors, but you are a teenager and are having a hard time convincing your neighbors that you can care for their children just as well as an older adult. What do you do?
·         Summer is quickly approaching, and your children are at the age where they will receive invites to pool parties. The problem is that your children don’t yet know how to swim. You can’t afford to pay the prices of private swim teachers. What do you do?
·         You are in charge of planning a school camping trip. You know that you need chaperones with a medical background or medical training, but you don’t have volunteer with this training. What do you?

In all three cases above, you contact the Red Cross.

Often people of think of the Red Cross as the volunteers who bring food and medical supplies to areas hit by a natural disaster. However, this is simply one role that the Red Cross plays. The other role is to provide education opportunities so that people are prepared if an emergency occurs. 

Childcare Classes: If you are new to babysitting or you want your babysitter to have additional childcare training, the Red Cross offers online and face-to-face Babysitting classes. Some topics covered in the online course include playing with children of all ages, caring for children, and handling emergencies. The face-to-face class provides hands-on training in topics that include, but are not limited to, how to respond to an emergency with first aid and rescue breathing. This class also teaches how to manage young children and how to feed, diaper, and care for infants.

Swim Classes: Many people know that the Red Cross trains swim coaches, instructors, and life guards because the Red Cross emblem is observed at many life guard stations. In addition to this life guard and swim teacher training, it also teaches the basics of home pool and hot tub safety and maintenance.

Preparedness Classes: Also, the Red Cross offers a Wilderness and First Aid Course if you are preparing for a camping trip. In this class, some of the topics include bone and joint injuries, burns, and allergies and anaphylaxis. This list is not all inclusive, so please go the Red Cross website for additional information.These are some of the classes that the Red Cross offers to the public. Please visit the Red Cross website for additional classes for home, school, and workplace safety.

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