Red Cross Pillowcase Program

Our Year 3 and 4 students recently participated in the Red Cross Pillowcase Program. This program was originally inspired by events during Hurricane Katrina where students at a local University used pillowcases to carry their cherished and basic belongings when evacuating. The American Red Cross developed the concept of using pillowcases as an emergency kit.

Our students worked with three Red Cross Volunteers- Abdul Hakeem, Margaret Benson and Heather Pentreath to explore how they can prepare for an emergency, what to do in an emergency and the importance of being prepared. The Pillowcase program helps to reduce fear and build stress management skills.

"Last week, two volunteers from Australian Red Cross came to our school. They taught us about emergencies and told us a story where there was somebody who could not find their emergency bag so they took a pillowcase instead and put all the things they needed inside the pillowcase. The message about using your pillowcase as a bag has spread all around the world.

Our class played a game with people who came from Red Cross. They gave us some cards to play with and we made groups. In our groups we had to choose 8 cards that were important in an emergency, then we each got a folder. In the folder there was an activity book and a pillowcase, we loved decorating the pillowcase, making it colourful and adding pictures and patterns, we took our pillowcases home, heat treated it and can’t wait to use it on our pillow "

By Aki and Mehakpreet